Dark Secrets
by RDF-73
Summary: This is an AU story: Thundera is being disrupted from the inside out. Yet the King and the City guard are not doing much of anything the control it. So it is left to the young Prince to stop it before it's to late.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I would like to thank Prairie24 for being my beta reader as well as my inspiration to wright this story.

I'm still not 100% on the direction I will take this story or if I will continue it. That all depends on the reader and what they think of it. So please if you don't like it don't flame it, If you do please review and suggestions are welcome. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Darkness had settled over Thundera, and the city was beginning to quiet down as the crescent moon started come over the horizon. Most of the city's citizens were in for the night - that is all but one. A lone figure could be seen, if anyone paid attention, perched up on the roof of one of the highest buildings in the city. The person was on the hunt for anyone that tried to bring harm to the city's citizens.

Dressed all in black with only his deep sky blue eyes showing, he watched the streets below him. Rumors had been going around that a big crime boss was planning on moving in some illegal substances into the city tonight. While the city guards tried to stop this man, they were bound by the laws. That was not the case for this cat. The laws didn't apply to him when it came down to protecting the city.

**"**_Where are you?" _he thought to himself as he waited.

Movement down the narrow street caught his eye, and everything in his body told him it was time. Yet if he didn't time his assault just right then everything he had been planning for up to this point would be for naught. So he waited, and as if on cue, the crime boss showed his face, just as the informant said. He reached to his side and pulled out what looked to be a small pistol. He aimed it across the alley and squeezed the trigger. It made little noise as a grappling line shot out and attached itself into the wall. Every muscle tensed as the young cat readied to spring into action.

When the moment came he wasted no time to strike. He stood up and with a deep breath he jumped from the rooftop hanging onto the line. He swung down and before the crime boss or his men knew what had happened he was on top to them. His strikes were quick and powerful, knocking out each one of them with a few well-placed hits. Before long the only one left standing was the boss himself. The young cat walked over to the boss who was looking about for anyone else to help him.

**"**You've brought in your last shipment," the young cat said in a deep voice.

**"**Please I'll cut you in on the deal; just let me go," the boss pleaded.

**"**I don't make deals with criminals," the cat in black responded. He went to say more but he heard the sound of the city guards coming. "Your reign of terror over this city is over tonight., he said and stepped right in front of him.

**"**What are you going...?" the boss started to ask.

The young cat looked down at the unconscious body of the crime boss and smirked. He looked down the street just as he spotted the guards running in his direction. They were yelling at him to not move, but he simply smirked under his mask. He pulled out his grapple and fired it above his head. With a quick tug on the line it began to retract and pulled him skyward just as the guards reached the scene. He looked down at them and gave a slight wave as he disappeared into the darkness of the night. A smirk was still on his face as he ran along the rooftops toward his home. Tonight was a success and the entire new tech that he had put together worked perfectly.

* * *

_**The Following Morning**_

Lion-O walked down the stairs of the palace on his way to breakfast. As he headed to the main dining room he could hear his father and brother Tygra talking. The topic of conversation made him stop just out the door.

**"**I'm telling you father, whoever this guy is, he handed Ghatoro over to the city guard on a silver platter," Tygra answered his father.

**"**I don't care Tygra; I will not have someone like this person running through the city and taking matters into his own hands," Claudus answered back,in a harsh tone.

His elder son just shook his head at his father. He could not understand why he was so against this one person taking down the criminals in the city that his own city guards could not even catch. As far as Tygra thought, what this guy was doing kept the guards and for that matter himself out of the slums of the city tracking these thugs down. It was a job that their father, the King, had asked him to do. It gave him time to flirt with the pretty young ladies in the court as well as one special Cleric.

For Lion-O, still standing outside the dining hall, he could not agree more with Tygra's thoughts on what this one person was doing for the city. Then again, the city guards were pretty much incompetent as far as he was concerned. He was sure a few of the area commanders were being bribed by the thugs to let their little ventures go unnoticed. What made it even worse was the fact that his brother, the Commanding Officer of the city guard appointed by his father, seemed to not only not care but was happy about the fact that someone else was willing to do the job for him.

**"**Prince Lion-O, what are you doing out here?" an elderly male voice said, bringing the young prince out of his thoughts.

He looked up and was a little startled when he heard Jaga catch him off guard. It was not like him to be taken off guard like that anymore. He was normally not so easy to sneak up on, but then again Jaga and his Clerics where the exception to that rule. Of course Lion-O never had an issue with a certain female Cleric surprising him.

**"**I was just getting ready to head in for breakfast," Lion-O quickly answered him. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" Lion-O asked his mentor.

**"**I have come to speak to your father about the recent events within the city and the rumors that are going around."

**"**Oh," he said sounding surprised. "And what rumors would that be?" he asked.

Jaga just looked at the young lion with a telling look. The elder Cleric knew well enough that Lion-O had heard about the rumors going around the city. So why he was just playing like he didn't know had Jaga thinking. Did the prince know something that he was not letting on to?

**"**Jaga please come in," the booming voice of King Claudus said from the dining hall, bringing the elder Cleric from his thoughts.

**"**Your Majesty, I need to speak to you about the reports that have come to my attention about our lone vigilante," Jaga said walking in with Lion-O in tow.

**"**Very well, let us go to my study and speak on these matters," the king said getting up from the table.

Without a word to his youngest son, the King and the elderly Cleric left the dining hall. The brothers watched the two leave for a moment before returning to their morning meal. Neither really said a word to each other as they ate.

**"**Well I have duties, so I will be going," Tygra said standing up. "Try to learn something today," he said walking away from Lion-O.

Lion-O let out a small growl deep in his throat at his brother's snide comment. He hated the fact that even at nineteen his elder brother always looked down on him and treated him like a child. If he only knew what he was capable of, then he was sure that Tygra would see him in a different light. However, it was something that he was sure he would never know about. Finishing his meal, Lion-O got up from the table and headed out the door. There was plenty that he needed to get done today and he was deep in his thoughts on what he needed to do first.

However, as he walked down the long corridor leading to the courtyard, he spotted Tygra with another young female. He watched as he brother talked to the girl with such ease and confidence. It was just another thing that frustrated him to no end when it came to his brother. He wasn't able to talk to women so easily, not like Tygra was able to. What made matters worse for the young lion was the fact that no sooner did he take interest in a female than Tygra came swooping in and found some way to take any chance he had with her away from him. It was the same with Lion-O's new interest.

She was about his age and had stunning ruby red eyes that he would get lost in and forget how to speak. When he did speak he was sure that he sounded like a giant fool. Somehow Tygra found out that he was interested in the cheetah Cleric and at every turn when Lion-O found himself able to talk to her Tygra seemed to show up and ruin everything.

Lion-O took a deep calming breath and kept walking; he had work to do before tonight, and he didn't need to think about his brother destroying his self-confidence when it came to women. There was too much for him to do, too much to prepare for.

As he moved across the palace he thought he heard someone calling for him. He stopped and looked around but he didn't see anyone at first. Then he saw it, a servant calling after him. Lion-O waited for the man to catch up to him.

**"**Prince Lion-O, I've been sent to find you. Your father wishes to see you in ihis study right away," the man said trying to catch his breath.

**"**Very well," Lion-O said with a slight groan.

He was not sure what his father wanted, but something told him that he was not going to like it the least bit. However, he knew that when his father called for him it was best not to let him wait too long.

* * *

**"**Father, you wanted to see me," Lion-O asked as he walked into his father's study.

**"**Yes, son, please come in."

Lion-O walked in and noticed Jaga; another Cleric was standing next to the elder Cleric. The person was in their full Clerical garb and Lion-O had no way of knowing who the person was. However, now was not the time for wondering who was under the robes. He faced his father and tried his best to square his shoulders and stand tall.

**"**Jaga and I have talked about the reports of the vigilante running about the city," Claudus started, and Lion-O had a bad feeling about where this was going. "I agree with Jaga, and for the time being a personal Cleric will be assigned to you at all times."

**"**Father, the Clerics are already charged with protecting the royal family, so why the personal guard?" Lion-O questioned.

**"**I feel that at some point this person will turn on the royal family," Jaga interjected.

Lion-O had expected this answer from one or both of them. The rumors that were going around the city said that even the royal family was corrupt and would become a target for this person. However, Lion-O knew differently. Sure there were a few nobles that could be taken down a notch with their underhanded dealing, but he knew for certain that the person would not attack the royal family.

**"**So for the time being son, this Cleric will be with you at all times," his father told him in a tone that left no room for discussion.

Lion-O wanted to argue with his father on this issue; having a personal guard following him everywhere he went was going to impede on his activities. He was going to have to find a way to escape from the Cleric and get on with his plans. However, it was going to take time to come up with a plan. Lion-O didn't say another word but nodded to his father and the elderly Cleric before turning around and walked out of the study. He didn't have to look back to know that his personal shadow was following him down the hall.

**"**Look, I know you have been ordered to watch me, but if and when I need it ,I would like some privacy from time to time," Lion-O told her as they rounded a corner of the palace.

**"**It is my job to keep you safe Prince Lion-O," the Cleric responded in a female voice.  
Lion-O stopped for a moment and looked to the Cleric that was charged with being his guard. Something about her voice sounded familiar to him, but he could not quite place from where. He studied her for a moment but all he could see was a hint of her eyes behind the mask she wore. It was not enough for the young lion prince to see if his suspicions were correct.

"Be that as it may, I don't need a babysitter," Lion-O finally said after giving up on who was behind the mask. "I'm sure that my brother does not have one of you Clerics following him around like a shadow," he continued as he started walking again.

"No, Prince Tygra is not heir to the throne, like you are Prince Lion-O," she answered him.

"Perfect," was all he responded with.

After a few moments Lion-O reached his destination. He stopped for a moment before opening the door to his private workshop. He looked at the Cleric and let out a sigh. This was so aggravating that he ran a hand through his thick red hair. There was no way that he could let her in to see his collection.

"You wait out here," he told her.

"I am to be wherever you are," she answered.

"Whiskers," he groaned. "Look, this room is my private place and I let no one in here except maybe Snarf, and that's it." Lion-O told her. "So, you wait out here and if I need you for some reason I'll call for you," he said before unlocking the door and walking in.

* * *

It was dinner time by the time Lion-O walked out of his private room. Much to his aggravation the Cleric was still standing there where he had left her. He shook his head and headed down to the dining hall. His stomach grumbled after missing lunch, but he was too deeply involved with a new piece of tech that he was working on. He said not a word to her as they made their way to the dining hall. It was not until he was about ready to walk in when he stopped and looked at her.

"Don't you have something better to do?" he asked with an irritated tone.

She said nothing, but just stood there like a statue. Lion-O let out an aggravated growl before turning back around and going to his seat at the table. Dinner was not different from any other and having a Cleric standing behind him made things even worse. It was just more fuel for Tygra to pick on him. He wanted so badly to get up and shove his brother's snide remarks down his throat, but that would only bring his father's wrath down on him. So when dinner was over, Lion-O quickly left. He headed towards his room, with his thoughts on how he was going to ditch the Cleric babysitter

There were rumors that another shipment would be trying to make its way into the slums again. Apparently, the criminal bosses didn't listen to the warning left to them. Lion-O knew if that one shipment got in then there would be a lot of cats in the slums that would be paying the price for it in a few days. So his mind was quickly coming up with a plan to get out of the palace.

"Well, I'm going to turn in early for the night," he said as they came to his door. He was trying to get her to leave him alone. Looks like you need to get your sleep as well, so go and I'm sure I'll see you in the morning," he said with a bit of a sarcastic tone.

"I am not to leave your side your highness," she answered.

"Look…," he started in a frustrated tone, before taking a calming breath. "Remember when I told you I wanted some privacy from time to time, well this is one of those times," he told her.

"I will be right here if you need me," she answered.

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair before he closed the door to his room. There was no choice left to him now but to go with the only option left. He made his way over to his closet and changed into his all black outfit. Using all the training that he had, he quietly moved to the window in his room and opened it. Taking out his grappling pistol he shot a line across the courtyard. He looked back to the door for only a second before jumping out into the moonless night.

It was well into the early morning when he returned to the palace. His mission for the night was only a semi-success. He was able to stop the shipment, but the major players in the game had gotten away. He quietly climbed back into his window, but as he did he felt a presence in the room with him. He tried to move into the shadows, but before he could completely conceal himself he was being attacked. He room was too dark for him to see who it was, but they were fast and fought him harder and any thug he had ever faced to date.

There was a blur of yellow to his right, as he tried to avoid what was coming, but he was not quick enough to dodge the attack. He flew across the room and fell with a hard thud onto the floor. He tried to get up, but the attacker was on top of him before he could move. He let out a painful groan as his attacker pressed his weapon to his throat.

"Tell me what you did with Prince Lion-O now, and I might spare your life," a female voice asked laced with venom.

It was the cleric that had attacked him. Somehow she had gotten into his room and got the drop on him. He tried to throw her off of him, but the more he moved the more she pressed her staff to his throat.

"Master Jaga was right in having me here with the Prince. So where is he?" she spat at him.

He tried to answer but it was too hard with her pressing her staff to his throat. He had to get her off of him quickly before the guard heard the scuffle and came running. Yet no matter what idea came to him it always ended up with him getting his throat crushed. He let out a low deep growl of frustration for being caught like this.

"Well, if you won't tell me where he is then let's start by who you are," she said reaching for his hooded mask. She ripped it off and what she saw underneath caused her to quickly back away in shock. "Prince Lion-O, but…how…why?" she said bumbling for words.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Like to thank everyone for accepting this story with open arms your reviews really keep my going on to write this. I've looked over them all and some of you have given me so good suggestions that I plan on using in one for or another.

One again would like to thank Prairie24 for her help in bring my editor. If you have not had the chance to read some of your work you should. It helped inspire mine

Enjoy

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_"Well, if you won't tell me where he is then let's start by who you are," she said reaching for his hooded mask. She ripped it off and what she saw underneath caused her to quickly back away in shock. "Prince Lion-O, but…how…why?" she said bumbling for words._

**Chapter II**

"So you know who I am, why don't you tell me who you are," Lion-O said getting up from the floor and moving over to his bed.

He watched the cleric, wondering what she was going to do, but she just stood there staring at him. No doubt she was in shock finding out that the person that all the rumors were about was him.

"You know it's not polite to stare," he said snidely, yet he still didn't get an answer from her.  
The Cleric was completely stunned at this new revelation. The quiet prince that everyone thought was nothing but a dreamer was the vigilante taking out one crime boss after another. It was completely different from everything she knew about him, and it was taking her a bit to process the information. She could hear him talking to her but the words were not coming to her to be able to answer. She just stood there and stared at him as he looked back at her with the eyes as blue as the deep sea.

"I..." she started, but still failed to be able to say anything.

"I, what?" Lion-O repeated then finally walked up to her.

Since she had unmasked him, Lion-O figured that it was only fair that he revealed who she was. He walked up to her and looked right into her eyes through her lion mask. He studied her for a moment before reaching up slowly and to remove her mask.

The Cleric knew that she should stop him, but when he looked right into her eyes she was frozen, trapped in those eyes of his. So when he reached up to pull her mask off she offered no resistance.

Lion-O was not all that surprised by whom he found under the mask. He had suspected it was her from the beginning, but he knew well enough then not to guess her identity. Despite the situation, he could not help giving her a kind, warm smile.

"Hello, Cheetara," Lion-O said in a soft voice, as he backed away from her.

"Hello?" she said in response. "That is all you can say after what happened tonight?" she asked him.

"Wel,l it seems that you haven't lost your ability to speak," he said, taking her mask and tossing it on his bed. "The bigger question is, Cheetara, what are you going to do with this new information?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Are you going to tell my father and Jaga about this?" He questioned her.

He hoped that she would keep his secret, but Lion-O knew all too well what her duties as a Cleric meant. If she was going to tell Jaga and his father there would be no way he could stop her. Thugs and criminal bosses he could deal with, but Lion-O knew better to take on a fully trained Cleric.

"I was ordered to tell Jaga about anything that you might be up to," she answered him.

"I should have known that he would suspect something."

"Why?" she asked him, still rooted in the spot where she was standing.

"You want to know why I do this, is that it?" he asked her in return.

He thought on her question for a few moments. As he did, he leaned forward and rested his left elbow on his knee with his chin in his hand. He ran his free hand through his hair a few time out of frustration. How was he going to be able to explain all this to her so she could understand? He soon stood up quickly and it caused Cheetara to back up a bit wondering if he might attack her. Lion-O just looked at her and sighed.

"Do you trust me Cheetara? With as long as we've known each other do you trust me?" he asked as his blue eyes looked right into her crimson ones.

For the life of her, Cheetara wanted to tell him no. How could she trust him anymore after what she had just learned about him? They had been friends since they were kids, and yet she never suspected him of doing anything like this. However, despite what her mind was telling her, her heart was speaking louder and in the end won out.

"Despite everything I now know about you, yes, Prince Lion-O I trust you," she answered him.

"Then keep what you know to yourself for one more day, and tomorrow night come with me," he told her, but got a questioning look in response. This caused him to let out a hurt sigh. "Come with me tomorrow night and let me show you what it is that I'm doing to keep this city safe," he said picking up her mask from his bed and walking over and handing it to her. "After that I will not stop you from telling Jaga and my father about what I've been doing."

"Because you've never given me any reason to doubt your word Prince Lion-O," he stated as she took the offered mask from him, "I will keep your secret for one more day."

"Thank you Cheetara," he said with a soft smile.

* * *

As the day wore on Lion-O could feel Cheetara watching him, well watching him more than normal. He was not sure what she was thinking, but it did unnerve him a little. A part of him was worried that in the end she would go to Jaga and his father about what he was doing at night. Yet as night approached and the appointed hour came closer for them to head out into the city, there was no sign that his father or Jaga knew.

He stood there looking out of the window of his room and then dressed in his black garb, ready to begin another patrol. He looked to the door leading into his bathroom when he heard it open. As he watched her walk out in the tight fitting black outfit that he had her wear, Lion-O could not help himself from staring at her. It hugged every curve of her body. When she looked up at him, he quickly averted his eyes from her.

"I don't understand why I have to wear something like this," she questioned as she tried to get the feel of the fabric so close to her skin.

"Darkness is our ally, aside from the fact that with it being so close to our body it will keep it from snagging anything," Lion-O stated as he put his hooded mask on leaving nothing but his eyes showing.

Cheetara watched her prince move towards the window and then turn and look at her. Even in the dim light of him room she could see every toned muscle under his outfit flex and move. She had to avert her eyes from looking at him too long like that. She was just a Cleric, and Lion-O was a prince. Yet a girl could always dream what it would be like to be held in those strong arms of his. No! She shook herself mentally from that train of thought. Tonight was about something else; it was about seeing whether or not what the young Prince was doing should be reported to the King.

"You ready?" Lion-O asked her.

Cheetara just nodded and walked over to the window next to Lion-O. Before she could say anything more, he pulled out his grappling gun and shot a line across the courtyard. Without thinking anything about it, he reached around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Hang on tight," he told her right before jumping out of the window.

Cheetara had just enough time to wrap her arms around his neck as he jumped. They went into a free fall for a few moments before the line went tight and they started to swing over the wall of the palace. As much as she didn't want to let herself admit it, being this close to her prince sent chills up her spine. She could feel his muscles flex under her as he swung them over the wall of the palace to the roof tops in the upper class of the city.

Once over the wall, Lion-O let go of Cheetara. As soon as he did she began to miss the warmth of his arms around her. She had to push those thought outs of her head and stay focused on the purpose at hand. She looked to him and noticed that he motioned for her to follow him. She was impressed with how quietly he moved across the rooftops of the buildings and at the speed that he moved. All the time that she had known Lion-O, he never moved with the skill that he was using tonight. There was more to her Prince than what she had seen so far.

Before long, they had entered the slums. Lion-O stopped and perched himself on a rooftop overlooking a back alley. He never made any acknowledgement that Cheetara had come up next to him. His focus was on what was going on below them. She looked to him for a moment before she turned her attention to what he was looking at below.

"Get those crates inside quickly," a fair large rough looking cat yelled out to others around him. "The boss wants this on the street by the morning."

Cheetara could see Lion-O's muscles tense at the big cat's words. His claws dug into the adobe structure of the roof. Lion-O did not like whatever was in those crates one bit. All she knew was that every night for the past few months he had been coming out into the city at night and stopping whatever these cats were trying to do.

"I have to stop them," he said in a hushed but dark tone.

"We need to let the city guards and your brother deal with this," she whispered to him.

"I cannot wait for my brother to act," Lion-O answered her and then reached for his grappling gun again. "You can stay if you want but I'm going," he told her right before shooting a line across the alley and jumping down.

Cheetara let out an aggravated sigh as she watched him swing down to the thugs below. She was sworn to protect him and knew she could not let him face all those cats by himself. So she pulled out her staff and quickly jumped into the fray that Lion-O was already in the middle of.

Ducking a swing to his head, Lion-O was quick to react and counter. His adrenaline was pumping and it didn't matter how many thugs he had to face. He would do what was best for the city, and if that meant taking on ten big cats then he would without hesitation.

Pivoting on his left foot, he spun around and the heel of his right foot connected with his opponent's temple sending to the ground in a heap. He heard a groan from behind him, and quickly spun around to see another cat's eyes roll in the back of his head before the cat fell down. He had not realized that he was about to be jumped from behind, but when he looked up again he noticed that Cheetara was there as well. She had covered his back despite all her misgivings about what he was doing. He gave her a playful wink before turning to take on his next opponent.

After what seemed like forever, the last thug fell to the ground unconscious. Both Lion-O and Cheetara were breathing hard from the fight. He looked to her to see if she was alright, and she gave him a nod in response. He took another deep breath before walking over to the stack of crates. He grabbed a crowbar and made short work of the wooden box.

"This is what I'm trying to keep out of the city and what my brother is failing to do in his job," Lion-O told her.

Cheetara looked at what Lion-O was holding up. It looked to be a small metal box about the size of a brick. Yet the sides were almost clear in color and a red liquid could be seen inside. Looking from the small brick to the crates, she could see that each one had close to fifty in them. She took the one that Lion-O had and studied it closer before looking up to him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure of the exact substance, but whatever it is, it is very toxic," he told her. "A few nights ago one of the men dropped a crate in a warehouse and the glass broke. That red stuff come flowing out in a gas form and..." he said then paused.

"What?" she asked him as she noticed the worried look in his eyes.

"The sight of those two cats that were exposed to it was not something I want to see again," he told her.

"Then what have you been doing with the stuff?" she asked again.

"This."

Lion-O reached around his back to a pouch he carried around his waist and pulled out another device. It was something that Cheetara had never seen before. She watched him walk up to the open crate and place a small disk from the device in the center of the crate. He took the small brick from Cheetara and put it back, before stepping back and hitting a button on the device. She watched in amazement as the crate quickly started to glow bright white then vanish. When the light dissipated, the crate was nothing but a blacked pile of ash.

"Here, tie them up," he told Cheetara, nodding at the thugs as he tossed her some rope. "I will finish getting rid of the crates."

By the time they finished the sound of the city guard could be heard coming their way. Lion-O just shook his head as it seemed that they were late arriving on the scene. It frustrated him to no end seeing them always coming after the fact. He didn't wait to be seen by the guards before using his grappling gun to get the both of them out of the area.

* * *

"So what are you going to do, Cheetara, now that you know the whole truth?" he asked her as he dried his hair.

They were back in his room at the palace and Lion-O had just stepped out of his bathroom after a shower. He had a towel over his shoulders and a pair of sleep pants on. He looked at the cheetah sitting in a chair in his room with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had been like that since they returned back to the palace. Why, he was not sure, knowing that she was trained for battle, but something was different. In a way it worried him, seeing her like this.

"I don't know Lion-O," she said looking up at him. "Parts of me want and feel the need to go and tell Jaga and your father about this," she said, averting her eyes again as she found herself starting to stare at his well-toned bare chest

"But?"

"But another part wants to find out what is going on before I do that," she answered him now looking at the floor.

Cheetara had a battle going on within her between her duty to the Clerics and her loyalty Lion-O. She could feel his eyes on her as he waited for an answer on what she was going to do. She was so deep in thought again about what she was going to do that she didn't hear him walk over to her. It was not until he bent down in front of her and took her hands into his bigger ones that she realized he was so close. She looked up only to see his blue eyes looking at her. She could feel her heart rate begin to go up.

"Cheetara, I have faith in you to do what's right. If it's to go and tell Jaga that I'm the one everyone is looking for than I understand," he said softly. "I will never make you do something that you do not feel is right," he told her giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Sire I..." she started, but was stopped when Lion-O put a finger to her lips.

"It is a lot to think about, so please go think over what you feel is the right course of action that you should take, and let me know," he told her and then gave her a gentle smile.

Cheetara just nodded and then stood up with Lion-O's help. She put her Cleric robes on again and walked towards the door. She stopped for a moment and looked back at her lion prince as he stood there watching her. He gave her another warm smile before she stepped out of his room and headed back to the Sanctuary.

Her mind was so filled with everything that she had learned tonight that she didn't notice another pair of eyes watching her walk out of Lion-O's room.

* * *

Tygra had seen Cheetara go into his little brother's room not long after Lion-O was supposed to have gone to bed for the night. That had been hours ago and now it was nearly three am; she was just leaving his room. His mind raged with anger at what the two of them could have been doing together. As far as he was concerned Cheetara was his girl and always had been since they were younger. He had known her longer and he was the one that encouraged her to stick with it when she tried to become a Cleric.

Now she was staying in his brother's room, and it burned him up just thinking about it. He swore that he was going to do something to get back at Lion-O for taking her from him.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N:_** Well here another one, I'm more than tickled that everyone is enjoying this story so much. I always get a little apprehensiveness when I publish a new story and what the reaction it. So thank you to all of you that have fav this story and are following along. **  
**

I would like to thank bronwynn for filling in as my editor this time due to Prairie24 R/L issue. Want to thank her as well for passing it on to bronwynn. Thank you both for the help.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter III**

The next morning Lion-O awoke as he did every morning. He was a bit sore from the fight the previous night, but it was nothing that he could not deal with; he had learned to deal with that over the years. As he was growing up, Lion-O had often spared with his older brother. It taught him how to take a hit as well as learn ways to deal with the sore muscles the next day. However, that was not what was bothering him the most this morning.

For the first time in a long while Lion-O was worried. He worried what Cheetara would do with the information he had shared with her last night. If she followed her oath to the Cleric's and her duty to the crown, she would end up telling his father and Jaga about what he had been doing at night. If that happened, all the work that he had been doing for the past several months would have been for nothing and the mastermind behind this would win. That was something that he could not let happen.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He headed to the door, stopped for a moment and took in a calming breath before he opened it. Lion-O anticipated the worst. He had expected to see his father and Jaga when he opened the door, but instead it was only one of the house servants.

"Prince Lion-O, I've come to change your linens" the young female cat told him.

"Sure, by all means," he said as he opened the door further.

As he let her in he noticed that there was a Cleric standing outside his door. A quick look at the Cleric was all Lion-O needed to realize that it was the cheetah. When she looked over to him, Lion-O gave her a small smile before he closed the door and headed to his bathroom to get dressed for the day.

* * *

Cheetara's night was filled with a restless sleep. Her mind was too occupied with what her prince had shown her the previous night. When morning came she was still uncertain of what to do with the information. She still felt that it was her duty to tell her mentor and the king about the young prince's nightly outings. Yet, there was a part of her, a part that seemed to be growing more and more, that wished to keep it to herself.

Seeing her prince move last night, fight with such passion, had affected her. This was odd as Cheetara was never one to be impressed by a man showing off his fighting skills. It was part of the reason that she never responded to Prince Tygra when he had tried to impress her as he spared with his brother. It had appeared as if he was just trying to bully his younger brother. Yet last night, Lion-O was not doing it to show off—he was doing it to stop them.

She went about her morning as she would normally, her mind so busy processing the situation that it was not really focused on her meditation. She went through it more out of routine than anything else, and before she realized it she was standing guard in front of Lion-O's room. She was still debating what to do when she noticed a house servant walking toward her. She said not a word as the young girl knocked on her prince's door.

When he had opened the door, Cheetara looked back at him from the corner of her eye. She had to actively control her breathing upon seeing him again with only his sleep pants on. She quickly forced her eyes to face forward, doing whatever she could to keep that shirtless image of him. She was a Cleric charged with his protection and was not allowed to have such thoughts about the Crown Prince and heir to the throne. Yet despite her better judgment, she looked back at him a second time as he ushered the servant in and noticed the small smile that he gave her.

Just seeing that small smile of his made her heart race. No, she needed to stop these feelings—quickly, before it led to something that would get her, if not both of them, in trouble. She was not allowed to have these thoughts al all. He was her charge and she had other things that she needed to be thinking about at the moment.

* * *

About forty minutes after the servant had arrived, Lion-O stepped out of his room dressed for the day. Cheetara was right behind him as he headed down the hall. As was custom, he didn't acknowledge her presence, but he knew she was watching him closely. He had hoped they would have had a chance to talk before he headed down for breakfast, but alas, that was not to be.

As he stepped into the dining hall Lion-O greeted his father and gave a slight nod to his brother and sat down. As he waited to be served he failed to notice the look that his brother was giving him from across the table.

Tygra was still miffed about seeing Cheetara leave his brothers room late last night. The tiger was certain Lion-O was doing things with her—things Tygra felt only _he _should be doing with her. He hated seeing Cheetara anywhere near his brother, but there was little he could do or say regarding the assignment his father and Jaga and had given her. He did, however, start thinking of ways that he could pull them apart from one another.

"So I've been told again that a group of cats had been tied up and left for the city guard to find." Claudus said to his boys. "The guards found out after interviewing witnesses that there were two of them last night instead of the one from all the previous reports."

"That is very interesting father. Did they say anything else? " Lion-O asked after thanking the server for his food.

"What should it matter what else they might have said about the attacker?" Tygra chimed in, a bit of aggravation in his tone. "They were common thugs and they are now in the city prison." He finished.

"I would think that the more information you can find out about this person, the closer you will be to finding him." Lion-O answered, shrugging off his brother's remark.

He was in no mood to start a fight with Tygra this early in the day and there was another issue which needed to be addressed this morning. He could tell that Cheetara was a bit uneasy behind him when he asked that question, but Lion-O was not worried about being discovered by his brother—that is, unless Cheetara had said something.

"Your brother does have a good point, Tygra." Claudus said just as Jaga walked through the door. The jaguar joined them today as he had done every morning at this time. "Ah Jaga, what have you found out so far about this vigilante?"

"I am sorry my Lord, but I have not been able to find any traces of who it might have been last night," the elder Cleric answered his King. "Aside from the piles of ash near the criminals, there were no traces that I could find."

"Well, keep digging—I want these people found and brought to me at once." Claudus ordered.

"Yes my King."

Claudus rose from the table and looked at his boys for a moment. He already could see there was tension between them and had a feeling that a fight might ensue before the day was done. He wished that his wife was still alive. It seemed that she was the only one able to keep peace between his boys. He had done his best, but raising two boys while running a Kingdom was difficult.

"We will be having a Ball in three days and several dignitaries from the outlying provinces will be here." Claudus told them. "This is a very important event for the future of Thundera, and I expect you two to be there," he told them, looking more at Lion-O than Tygra. "I also want these people caught and off the street before then," he directed the order to Tygra and Jaga.

No one said a word as Claudus left the room. As he followed the king through the doorway, the Elder Cleric looked quickly at Cheetara, giving her a look that told the cheetah he wanted to speak with her before the day's end. Although she was still conflicted about having this meeting, she had to inform Lion-O her decision.

"Well, I best get going. I have three days to find these people, as father has ordered, and I don't have the luxury of sitting around the palace all day," Tygra directed the insult toward his brother as he got up from the table.

"Maybe if you had actually done your job to begin with, this person would not have had to do it for you." Lion-O said without even looking at his brother. He knew full well that it would get a rise out of him.

"At least I take the responsibilities which father has given me seriously, and not keep my head in the clouds like you," Tygra shot back. "The only reason you are heir is that you are of father's bloodline, but no one wants you to be king or thinks you are capable of ruling," he retorted before turning to leave, not even giving Lion-O a chance to respond.

A deep primal growl sounded from deep within Lion-O's chest. It drove him insane to have to play the role of a 'head in the clouds' prince, a role in which everyone believed. He knew that when his day came he could be a good king. Yet a part of him still took his brother's word to heart. No one wanted him to rule the Kingdom. Lion-O let out a heavy sigh and tossed his napkin into his plate in frustration. Lion-O got up and left the dining hall, desperately in need of some fresh air.

Minutes later Lion-O found himself in a secluded part of main garden that he had used privately for training. He needed to burn off some steam after Tygra's comments. No one knew about this place aside from him—at least until today. He walked over to a small bolder which had not been able to be moved during the construction. He pulled off his outer shirt, which left him in his tight-fitting undershirt. As he set it down and walked over to where he had always trained privately he looked over to find Cheetara.

"You are the first one who has ever come here with me," he told her as he began to stretch. "I hope I can trust you with one more thing Cheetara. Please do not tell anyone about this part of the garden."

"I have not even told you my decision about last night," she responded, standing under a rather old tree.

"That is true." He nodded as he started the movements of his training. "Do you still need time to think or can I trust you with my secret?"

She watched him as he moved through his training exercises and wondered why he had never moved that way when he had spared with his brother. It was one of many questions that she had for the young prince. She sighed, knowing that she would have to give him her answer.

"Every part of me wants to honor the oath that I made to the Clerics for the protection the royal family," she began, "If I didn't honor that oath, everything that I am and was trained to do would mean nothing—I would be nothing." She paused.

"I see," he said, stopping for a moment and looking back at her. "I told you last night, Cheetara, that I will not force you to do anything or hide anything that would take your honor from you," he said, intending to go on, but stopping when she raised her hand.

"However," she started back, "I am charged to protect you no matter where you go and I feel that even if I went to Jaga and the King that you would continue this endeavor." She looked to him and Lion-O nodded in agreement with her assumption. "So for now, I will hold your secret," she said before she walked up to him. "But by the ancestors, if you hide anything else from me and let me find out like I did about this, I will hold to my oath as a Cleric," her ruby eye blazed in aggravation as she spoke.

Lion-O could tell by the look in her eyes that she meant every word of her threat. He felt guilty enough from keeping this secret from her in the first place, but now that she knew and accepted it, a sense of relief washed over him. He took a deep breath caught a strong whiff of her scent in the process. It sent a chill down his spine—something that he had never felt with other female. He had to take a step back to keep himself from doing anything that he might regret later, but how he wanted to.

'_No! Lion-O, snap out of it! This is Cheetara, a childhood friend and a Cleric as well,' _he thought to himself, getting his bearings back in control. "Thank you for understanding Cheetara. You don't know what it means to me that you have agreed to keep this secret."

The lion stepped away and resumed his training. Cheetara let out a breath that she had not realized she had been holding. Being that close to him—to the heavy scent coming off of him after a minimal amount of training had quickly affected her. It took all her training and discipline not to show that her Prince was affecting her physically. She was a Cleric by God's sake and was above all emotional and physical needs. She stepped back further from him to give him some room to go through the movement of his training as well as to help get her emotions and senses back under control.

* * *

"I'm sorry Lord Mumm-Ra, once again the shipment had been destroyed," a rather portly dog said.

Mumm-Ra let out a deep angered howl before raising his hand, blasting the dog into ashes. The rest of his Generals just stood back with fear in their eyes as the Demon Lord's anger was still present. Despite looking like he was a weak decrepit creature, the men loyal to the demon knew that description was far from the truth.

"I will not tolerate failure from any of you again," he roared in a sickly dark voice that would send a cold chill up anyone's spine. "Those blasted cats have opposed me for far too long and are the cause of me being stranded on this forsaken rock. I will have my revenge and take what is mine."

"Yes Lord Mumm-Ra," Silthe said with a hiss, "But every shipment we send to Thundera is intercepted before we can put it in place. "

"And what are you doing about it Silthe?" Mumm-Ra questioned, turning his cold deathly eyes to his lead General. "Are your men incapable of getting past a few mangy cats? I thought you had taken care of the city guards."

"I have, my lord, but it is not the city guards that are stopping the shipment," Silthe responded, "The men who had gotten away said that it is like some ghost that attacks them before they know it's even there. When they had gotten to the shipments, they had discovered them all been burned to ashes."

"You are telling me that it is a ghost Silthe?" Mumm-Ra inquired before letting out an eerie laugh. "All things of death are in my domain," he told them, "it is not a ghost that has been causing our issues."

"You are correct, Lord Mumm-Ra." A new voice said.

The new presence in his chamber inspired Mumm-Ra to develop an evil smile across his face; yet Silthe looked disgusted. A wicked smile crossed the face of the tall, large-framed cat when he noticed the look that the Lizard General had given him.

"Ah, General Grune, what news do you bring me?" Mumm-Ra hissed.

"Claudus is having a grand ball in three days, and he has ordered both Jaga and his son Tygra to locate this person before that time," Grune said as he took his place next to Silthe. "If they have not found the 'ghost' by then, I think it would be the perfect time to set our plans in motion."

"How can we trust the word of a cat who is so willing to betray his own people?" Silthe asked the tall saber-toothed cat.

Grune looked down at Silthe but ignored his question. He did not have to answer to the green-skinned General. He answered only to Mumm-Ra and no one else in the demon's army.

"Are you sure that you will be able to get what we need inside the city walls that night?" Mumm-Ra questioned.

"The guards and most of the city will be dealing with the celebration of the ball, and it will be very simple to get the shipments inside the walls and into place," Grune informed his master, "and by dawn of the next day you will have what is yours as well as the means to leave Third Earth."

"I will finally have my revenge on those cursed Thundercats, and the stone will belong to me," Mumm-Ra pronounced. "See to it personally, General."

"Yes Lord Mumm-Ra." Grune answered before he and Silthe turned and left the chamber.

Mumm-Ra formed another evil smile on his decayed face and let out a large evil laughter that rumbled through the pyramid. Grune just smiled to himself as he walked down the hall. In three days he would be rid of that idiot Claudus and his son Lion-O. He was already looking forward to crushing them both under his mace.

"Soon, Claudus, you will soon feel what true power is," he thought to himself

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Once again would like to thank Prairie24 and bronwynn for editing this story for me. Thanks

Not a lot of action in this one just a little fluff more than anything to help along with the story, but don't worry there will be some action in the next chapter. :)

* * *

**Chapter IV****  
**

_One Day Before the Ball_

"Out of the question," Claudus roared. "I have already set your escort for the ball tomorrow night."

Lion-O let out a silent groan knowing full well what his father was trying to do. It was no doubt a noble's daughter that his father was hoping he would take a shine to. It had been something that his father had been trying to do ever since he reached his seventeenth year. It was tradition, after all, for his father to arrange a marriage with one of the nobleman's daughters within the Kingdom. It drove the young prince nuts at the way in which his father would always try to push the issue.

"I will not have my son, heir to the throne, take a common female to this event," Claudus told his son as they stood in his private office.

"Father, she is not a common female," Lion-O nearly snapped. "I will be twenty in a few months and I think I have the right to choose who I take to this Ball of yours," he told his father.

"Yes, and in another year you are to be wed to a noblewoman—before you turn twenty one. It is..."

"Tradition," Lion-O said cutting off his father the king. "I know this all too well, Father. You have been pushing every nobleman's daughter from every part of the kingdom on me for nearly three years now." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper before he started speaking again. "I'm sorry. I know you value these traditions, and while some of them are worth keeping others need to be done away with," he told him, noticing his father was going to interrupt; but Lion-O continued, "If and when I'm ready to marry, it will be by my own choosing, not one that you try to force upon me. If you value this alliance so much then have Tygra marry the girl," the young prince said.

"Your brother is not heir to the throne," Claudus said then sighed heavily. "Lion-O, my son, I know a lot of burden is being placed upon you. I am sorry for that, but this is the way things have to be."

"No father, it's what you want," Lion-O countered. "My choice is made. Either I take her as my escort or I will not be attending this ball," he said before turning on his heel and heading for the door.

"Lion-O, get back here! I'm not done talking to you…." Claudus yelled after his son.

"I'm done talking with you," the lion prince answered as he opened the door to the study and stepped out.

After Lion-O pulled the door closed behind him he was still able to hear his father yelling at him. The young lion was now angry. He had made a simple request yet his father shut him down quicker than he could ask the question. He walked down the hall with a hard look on his face, not even speaking or acknowledging any of the servants that bowed to him as they walked past.

"You just can't seem to do what it required of you can you," a familiar voice said behind him.

"I'm in no mood to hear it from you as well, Tygra," Lion-O snapped.

"Oh, did father try to make you do something for the good of the kingdom again?" Tygra chided his brother. "Poor Lion-O, having to do something that requires you to have some responsibility."

Lion-O stopped in his tracks and tried to rein in his temper so he would not turn around and hit his brother full on the mouth. The lion knew it would have been easy to strike his brother, but that would require revealing his true abilities to the tiger.

"It's no wonder most of the Kingdom thinks your rule will lead Thundera to destruction," Tygra quipped as he leaned against the wall. He knew those words would get a rise out of his brother. "Father has let you do just about anything you've wanted for most of your life and never said anything about it, but when he asks you to do something for the good of the Kingdom you refuse to do it."

"You have no idea what he is asking of me."

"Oh? What? To have some pretty young lady be at your beck and call? Oh, you poor cat… or is it that you're not into girls?" he teased.

Lion-O snarled and spun around quickly, moving so quickly that Tygra was caught off guard. Lion-O grabbed him by collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"You have no idea what you are talking about brother," Lion-O warned, his voice dripping with hatred. "I like females very much, and I would take a particular female in a heartbeat if I was asked." The lion regretted his words the moment he had spoken them.

"Oh-ho, so there is a certain someone that you already have in mind," Tygra chuckled as his brother started to back away. "Is it someone I know? Maybe I can go talk to her about you."

Lion-O looked hard at his brother. He could not let on to his brother about his attraction to her. There would be no end of the teasing if he did. He knew that Tygra would also try anything to take her away from him and then would make sure to rub it in his face afterward. The Lion Prince was about to warn his brother to stay away from her when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Yet when he looked over, no one was there.

"I think I already know who it is brother, and I can't wait to find her and tell her," Tygra chuckled as he finally pushed his brother off him. "In fact I think I'll go find her right now. I'm sure she'd be just coming from the sanctuary right about now."

"You stay away from her. Cheetara is too good of a woman for the likes of you," Lion-O spat before cursing himself once again for letting his brother manipulate him.

Tygra stopped in his tracks and let out a rather maniacal laugh. It was so easy to get him riled up enough to spill information. He had been able to do it ever since Lion-O was able to walk and talk. Granted, it was a bit underhanded but Tygra considered it just revenge for everything that the lion had taken from him.  
"It's just too easy Lion-O," Tygra said laughing, "you're so quick to come to her defense with father and the slightest thought of me taking her from you gets you all riled up. What has it been, brother, only a week? A week of having her around you all the time and you've fallen in love with her? Or has it been longer than that?" Tygra asked. He watched Lion-O's expression and, despite the fact that he was trying to hide something from him, Tygra was able to read him easily. "So, it's been longer hasn't it?"

"Shut up and leave me alone already! Go find some courtier and do whatever it is you do with them," Lion-O spat.

"No I think I'd much rather find a certain cheetah cleric and take her before you've even had a chance," Tygra said as he started to walk past Lion-O. "It will be so easy to do, too. The thing is little brother, you don't even know what it's like to hold a woman, and she is much too good for you," Tygra said before walking around the corner.

Lion-O stood there enraged by Tygra's words. Everything was a competition to his brother, and the tiger did everything within his power to gain the advantage. Now because he let Tygra get him angry he was going to try and steal Cheetara from him as well. What bothered him more than anything is that he knew Tygra didn't have feelings for her. If he had, he knew Tygra would have sought her out a long time ago. No, this was only about taking something from him just so Lion-O couldn't have it.

He let out a deep growl before turning around and heading back from the way he had come. If it wasn't bad enough that his father started this nonsense earlier, now Tygra got him even more aggravated. He needed to go blow off some steam before the young prince ended up hurting someone.

* * *

Cheetara had just entered the palace looking for Lion-O. Her past two mornings had been a lot better than a few days ago. It helped that for the past two nights Lion-O had not left for his outing into the city. She wasn't sure why he hadn't gone, but she was grateful that he had stayed inside the palace.

Dressed in her Clerical robs, the young cheetah moved about the palace in search of her charge. As she walked down a corridor she heard her prince speaking in an angry tone. Something was wrong and it made her quicken her pace. However, as she got closer she heard the unmistakable voice of his older brother. They were in another argument and Cheetara had just been about to step around the corner and put a stop to it when she heard her name mentioned.

She stood there and listened—knowing it was wrong, but part of her wanted to know what the issue was. Her heart started racing when she heard the prince answer his brother. Was she dreaming? She had to be; she was no one special—just a protector of the royal family. Yet, as she listened to their words further as well as the deep growl that left her prince's throat proved to her that she wasn't dreaming. As much as Cheetara wanted to walk around the corner and prove to Tygra that he was wrong about Lion-O, she knew that she couldn't. Cheetara knew that she could not confront Lion-O about what she had just overheard.

Not being able to talk to him about it saddened her, but she was looking forward to seeing Tygra again if only for the opportunity to flatly refuse his advances toward her. She had been refusing him for the past two years now, but this time she would revel in the fact that Tygra would be unable to get one up on his brother.

She slipped back into the shadows as she heard him approach. She could not let on that she had heard the brothers talking even though she wanted to reassure her prince that his brother was wrong. She waited for a few minutes after seeing where he was going before she followed him.

* * *

By the time Cheetara caught up to her prince, he was already pounding away at a training dummy in his hidden training ground within the gardens. She stood silently under the shade of a tree, not wanting to break his concentration. He was shirtless once again and this time he wore no undershirt.

She watched as the sweat matted his fur, every well-toned muscle in his back flexing with each strike to the dummy. Her heartbeat quickened as she watched her prince, her mind running over the conversation she'd overheard between he and his brother. She wanted to forget about it but she just couldn't. How could she forget those words when she felt the same way toward the lion prince?

He was heir to the throne and was obligated to marry a noblewoman. It had already been arranged and they were to meet tomorrow night at the ball. Jaga had already informed her of this reality, and despite her feelings she would do nothing to embarrass herself or her prince. No how much it would pain her to see him with another woman, she would bury her feelings and perform her duties as she had always done.

The sudden silence snapped her out of her own thoughts. Lion-O was leaning forward onto the practice dummy. His forehead was resting on his right forearm, while his left was just hanging there. It was then that she noticed his hands.

In his anger he had beating the wooden dummy so hard that his knuckles were bleeding through the wrappings on his hands. Her heart tightened at the sight of his injury. She let out a small gasp as she quickly walked to him. She had failed him being so distracted with her own emotions. Cheetara knew she had to stop her daydreaming here and now, before he ended up really hurt.

"Prince Lion-O, you are bleeding," she tried her best not to show the concern in her voice.

"Oh, I am," he said with a ragged breath. "I didn't even know," Lion-O commented before straightening up and walking over to the towel he had left next to his discarded shirt.

"I'm sorry my prince—I've failed you." Cheetara told him.

"Cheetara stop. You've done nothing wrong," Lion-O reassured her as he started to unwrap the bindings on his hands, wincing a bit from the pain it caused.

"It is my job to keep you from harm and I have failed to do so." She stood up before him as he sat on a small bench in the garden. "I will accept any punishment that you deem fit and I will inform Jaga to have a replacement…"

"No," Lion-O interrupted, "it may be your job to protect me from harm, but that does not include self-inflicted harm." He looked up at her before he continued. "Now please stop, I don't want some stranger watching over me; I want my friend and partner." He gave her a soft smile.

"Yes, your highness." The cheetah replied.

"That's another thing; it's just the two of us out here," he told her. "It's just Lion-O, nothing else, okay?"

"Yes, Pr….Lion-O," she said quickly changing the way she was about to address him. "May I ask why you are so upset?"

"What make you think I'm upset?" he asked her only to see her look at his unwrapped hand that was bloody and slightly swollen. "Right," Lion-O said with a sigh. "It's my father and this bloody ball of his tomorrow night. He's got the nerve to try and set me up with another noblemen's daughter."

Lion-O let out a deep frustrated sigh as he ran one hand through his red hair. He looked at the ground in front of him not even looking at Cheetara. He felt her sit next to him and a slight chill ran up his spin at her closeness. Sure, he'd had her close to him when they left the palace the other night, but his mind was focused on other things. Now however, the fight with Tygra was still fresh in his mind as well as what was now out in the open between him and the cheetah.

"Your father is only doing what he thinks is best for you, Lion-O," Cheetara said softly after a few moments.

She wanted to reach out and touch him. She wanted to feel his fur run through her fingers, but she kept her hands in her lap. It pained her to say that about this new candidate for his wife. It was times like this that she prayed to the gods or even cursed them, if you will, that she was not of a station to let him know that she loved him as well and had loved him since she began to recognize boy. Sure, she was infatuated with his brother for a time, but in the end it was and always will be her prince sitting next to her.

"Thanks for trying, Cheetara, but you know very well that father is pushing marriage on me for himself and the empire, not for my well-being," Lion-O said, then leaned back on the bench and looked over to her. "Please take that mask off," he asked her gently.

"Lion-O, I can't, as long as I am her to be your guardian I can't. I should not even be sitting here talking with you like this. I am a Cleric and am meant to be in the shadows," she told him and felt her chest tighten with the disappointed look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said getting up and grabbing his shirt. "I'm going to take a shower and then go out for a bit, just so my shadow knows," he said with a bit of hurt in his voice.

'_Lion-O, I'm sorry.' _

He was like a hammer blow to her heart hearing the tone of his voice and the hurt look on his face. Cheetara slowly stood and after a few moments and followed her charge. She wanted to so badly use her lighting speed and catch up to him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him, letting him know that she felt the same way as he did about her. A part of her wanted to go to Jaga and ask to be reassigned because it was starting to be too hard to be close to him, but she knew if she did that it would only hurt Lion-O more.

* * *

Night had fallen over the city and the young lion prince walked aimlessly through the upper part of the city. His fight with his brother and the talk with Cheetara earlier that day were still fresh in his mind. He relived every bit of it over and over again. The fight with his brother was making him come to terms with his feelings for the cheetah that was walking some distance behind him.

He could not understand why it was so hard for him to talk to her about his feelings for her. He could face down any number of brutes and thugs and not even bat an eye. He could even bring himself to confront his father on his disparagement of his life and the way the king wanted to dictate his future. However, when it came to his childhood friend, guardian, and partner in protecting the city, he was like a frightened kitten about confessing his feelings for her.

He wandered by a fine dress shop and stopped to look at a navy blue evening dress. He stood there for a few moments looking at it, and imagining how good the cheetah cleric would look in it. A small wishful smile came across his face just thinking about it with her on his arm as they entered the ball. He was not sure how long he had been standing there, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a soft elderly female voice.

"Prince Lion-O, it's an honor for you to stop by my shop," An elderly female panther said to the young prince and then noticed the dress he was looking at in her window. "I think your young lady would look quite lovely in that for the ball tomorrow night."

"I could only wish that she would wear something like that for me," he said with a pained voice, before turning to keep walking.

The elderly panther looked at the young prince for a moment before walking into the shop and locking the door for the night. Neither saw a certain cleric walk up to the window and look at the dress herself. She had overheard the conversation between the shop keeper and Lion-O. Her heart nearly broke again when she heard his response to her. Cheetara looked at the dress for a moment longer before turning to follow her prince.

As she followed him back toward the palace, she knew that she was going to have to do something to get him out of this funk that he was in now. She knew it was her fault and there had to be something that she could do, but what she didn't know. It was going to require some sleep.

* * *

"I'm sorry; I'm closed," the shop keeper said as she walked to the front door after hearing someone knock. When she got there she noticed who it was. "Master Jaga, what brings you here at this time of the night?"

"I'm here to acquire a gift for a close friend," the Master Cleric said as the woman let him in.

"Certainly, what could that be?" she asked.

"The dress in the window, I would like to purchase it and have it delivered to the Sanctuary tomorrow evening before the ball," Jaga said.

"Anyone in particular?" she asked.

"Just an old friend," was all Jaga said.

He had seen both Lion-O and Cheetara in the garden at the palace and as well asoutside. The old Cleric could see the both were hurting as they tried to keep their feelings hidden. He had mentioned this to Claudus earlier. The King at first was furious at what his son was doing, but the wise Cleric reminded the king about when he and he wife first met and the circumstances that went along with it. It was only then that Claudus agreed with his best advisor.

"Here you go, my dear, and please no word of this to anyone," Jaga said.

"But of course," she said with a wide smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Well once again thanks for all my readers, make's me smile seeing your reviews as well as how some of you were disappointed that I didn't do anything for the Ball last chapter. Well wait no more the first part of the Ball is right here :) This by far is my longest chapter I've written for any of my stories and I hope it does not feel jumbled together. Hope you Enjoy it

P.S. Once again my thanks to Prairie24 for being my Beta.

* * *

**Chapter V**

"General Grune, are the preparations all set for tonight?"

"Yes, my lord, everything is ready as planned," Grune answered with an evil smirk on his face.

"Then tonight the family of that traitor, Leo, will be no more and I will have what was stolen from me, and you, General, will receive your reward for your loyal service," Mumm-Ra's twisted voice was followed by evil laughter that rattled through the Dark Pyramid.

Grune stood there in front of his master and let the evil smile on his face widen. He had looked forward to this evening for so long. Claudus had grown weaker since the death of his wife and it was time for a new ruler in Thundera. He could not wait to see the life drain from the king's eyes after he watched his only heir be ripped apart.

"Now go, General, and prepare for my arrival tonight."

"Yes, my lord," Grune said, bowing, then turning to leave.

* * *

_Thunderian Palace_

It was already late morning by the time that Lion-O drug himself out of his room. He had not slept at all last night. His mind would not stop thinking about the beautiful cheetah that held his heart even though he didn't have the courage to tell her that she did.

He walked down the hall almost by instinct as he headed to the kitchen for something to eat. It was already well past breakfast so he would have to find something on his own. The main ballroom was abuzz with activity as the servants prepared everything for the evening's festivities, something that he was not looking forward to in the least. Yet, he had decided last night that what he wanted didn't matter anymore.

He hated to admit it, but Tygra was right. He always did things for himself, and never for the good of the Kingdom, at least not publicly. Tonight however, he would play the role of the good son and Crown Prince as he greeted all the guests and even the Lady that his father was setting up for him. He shook his head at the thought. There was only one female for him, but he was not king yet. He was unable to get rid of the archaic laws about marrying a woman of royal blood.

He continued down the hall, and part of him wondered where she was at this morning. It was not like her to not be there with him as he left his room. Then he figured that she had other duties to perform for the ball tonight. Regardless of his feelings for her, he did miss having her around him. To Lion-O it felt that even if he did not have the guts to tell her how he felt, it was good enough to be with her all day.

The young lion was about to turn the corner to head into the kitchen when he stopped dead in his tracks. He felt something, what he was not entirely sure, but it felt like a force calling out to him. He stood there for a moment and looked about. He started to move on thinking that he was just imagining things. Then he felt it again, and this time it was there was a voice.

_"Lion-O, Prince of Thundera."_

"Who's there?" Lion-O questioned, but saw no one around him.

_"Come to me Prince of Thundera."_

There was a bright flash and when it died down Lion-O noticed a red vapor trail as bright as the red hair on his head. He raised an eyebrow at this then rubbed his eyes. No, he was not seeing things; it was there, but as he watched a palace guard walked right through it. It seemed that he was the only one who saw it.

_"Follow the path laid before you Prince of Thundera, and it will lead you to me."_

_"Okay, I know I didn't get enough sleep last night, but this is crazy," _he thought to himself.

Curiosity got the better of him and he started to follow the trail. He followed it to a part of the palace that lead toward the armory where his father kept the Sword of Omens. Before long he was standing outside of a very ornate door. It was massive, and as Lion-O looked over the intricate carvings on it the door began to open on its own. All of his training kicked in and he jumped back, getting ready for anything or anyone that might jump at him. When door opened, the prince slowly walked in staying alert for hidden dangers.

_"Greetings, Lion-O Prince of Thundera," _the voice said again.

"Okay, I'm here, now show yourself," Lion-O demanded.

_"I am here Prince of Thundera, and we need to talk," _the voice said.

Then another bright red light blinded the crown prince. When the light dissipated, Lion-O saw a rather large beast standing before him. As Lion-O looked at the beast, he thought it looked like a big cat, but not one he had ever seen before. It was bigger than any of the mounts that the army used, and despite its size Lion-O was not afraid of it. He stood there and folded his arms across his chest letting one hand rub his chin.

"What are you? Hell, who are you?" he asked.

_"You are very much like your ancestor Leo, Inquisitive, and showing no fear over my size," t_he beast said with a chuckle. _"I will enjoy serving you, but I will answer your question. I am the spirit that resides in the Eye of Thundera, and you are my new master."_

"Really now?" Lion-O said even surprising himself that he was this calm as he talked to this creature.

_"I have watched you for some time now, and I have been impressed by your actions in protecting the people of Thundera," _the spirit told him. _"Your nightly outings have beena hindrance on the plans for those who wish to bring destruction to our people, Prince. Yet, you have stopped these actions of late and let those people move their plans ahead."_

"I've had other things on my mind lately," Lion-O said. "Besides, it's my brother's job to keep the city safe."

_"You have had your mind on the young cheetah cleric that watches over you, and no, the kingdom is in danger from an old enemy," _ the spirit told him. _"Be on your guard tonight, Master, for the fate of the Thunderian Kingdom lies in your hands."_

There was another bright flash and when the light dissipated the spirit was gone. All Lion-O saw in the room now was the sword and the red crystal in it flashing a few times. He shook his head and turned to leave. He had to be having a waking dream and just imagined all of what happened. His growling stomach brought him out of his thoughts about the spirit and he decided to put it all behind him and find some food.

* * *

As Lion-O left the armory he did not notice that Jaga had been watching him. The elderly cleric had felt the energy coming from the sword. While he had felt it before whenever the king used it in battle, the spirit energy he felt this time was nothing like he had experienced before. There were writings in the ancient tome of previous Head Clerics who had felt this energy, but that was long ago when Leo was Lord of the Thundercats.

He had gone to investigate this power coming from the sword, and was surprised to see Lion-O standing in the armory talking towards the sword. Yet Jaga did not see anyone else in the room with him. The elder cat waited until the prince was around the corner before he walked into the armory. Placing a hand over the sword a pulse of energy went to his hand.

"I see, so you have chosen your new master already," Jaga said softly. "What is it that you know, Old Friend, that you are not revealing to anyone but the prince?" he asked before removing his hand with a nod of understanding.

* * *

The sanctuary bells chimed to announce the time for afternoon mediation for the clerics. It was something that they did everyday as a part of their pledge to the order and to help clear their minds. Yet for one cheetah of the order, no amount of meditation would clear her thoughts. She knew that she was to go to the palace again and watch over her prince, but after yesterday just the thought of seeing him pained her.

She could not bring herself to see the way he would look at her and not be able to act on it. Cheetara knew that she had sworn to herself that she would never leave his side, but she couldn't bring herself to leave her sparse room. She was being a coward and it was against everything that she stood for, but she didn't know what else to do.

Time went by and the bells rang again signaling the end of the meditation period. Cheetara had not moved in all that time. She was still sitting at her small desk with a piece of paper on it for her to write on. She had planned to write letters to both Jaga and Lion-O about what she was planning to do, but the words would not come to her.

A soft knock on her door made her jump and quickly hide what she had written so far. The cheetah dried her eyes and took a deep breath before answering the caller at her door. She was not surprised to see Jaga enter.

"Master Jaga," she greeted the man that was more a father to her than a master.

"You were not at meditation this morning and your fellow clerics said you were not at breakfast either. Is everything alright, my child?" Jaga asked with clear concern in his voice.

"I'm just not feeling like myself today; I'm sorry."

Jaga just gave her a knowing look. He knew very well why she was not being her normal self. He had seen it may times over his life, and the young cheetah in front him was no different from the others.

"It is a very powerful emotion that you are feeling, young one," Jaga said, which only got a nod out of the cheetah. "It can make you feel strong one moment and the next it can make you feel weak. While other times it makes you do things that rationally you would not do."

Cheetara looked up to her mentor and had a puzzled look on her face. She was not sure what he was talking about. Then again, there were times when she would ask him something and his answers were cryptic at best.

"Master Jaga, I don't understand what it is you are trying to tell me," Cheetara finally told him.

"Love, my dear child. Love is one of the most powerful emotions that we possess," Jaga told her. "It possesses you even now."

Cheetara looked up at her master wide-eyed. How did he know? She did everything she could to hide it, but the elder cat saw it anyway. She quickly looked down, embarrassed. Her cheeks turned a faint hue of red. She shook her head, denying his observation. She was rocked with a feeling of guilt and started to tremble. Just knowing that Jaga now knew about it and the fact that it could never be made the tears start to well up again. She quickly wiped away any stray tears that ran down her cheeks and forced herself not to cry.

Jaga observed the cheetah girl in front of him. She was like a daughter to him, and seeing her in so much emotional pain, he could not help himself from walking over to her and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It startled him some when she quickly latched onto him and buried her face in his chest and started to sob. He wrapped an arm around her and did his best to comfort her.

"I don't know what to do, Jaga; I love him more than I should for someone of my station. It hurts even more knowing that he loves me too," she said between sobs. "It's hard for me to be around him knowing this and knowing that nothing can come of it."

"What are you saying, Cheetara?" Jaga asked, looking down at her when she pulled her face from his chest and looked up at him. "Do you wish not to be around the prince anymore? Do you wish me to assign another Cleric to him?"

"Yes…I mean no, I don't know what to do," Cheetara said pulling away from her mentor and drying her eyes. "I had thought about writing both of you a letter and running away from all this pain and hurt."

"If that is what you really want, Cheetara, then I will not stop you and Iwill understand," Jaga told her knowing full well that she would never leave Lion-O like that.

"No matter how much I think it will be for the best, I can't bring myself to do it and disappoint you and hurt Lion-O," she said with another small sob. "I don't know what to do."

"Cheetara, I have known you since you were a small cub, and I have never known you to quit anything once you set your mind to it. That is how you were accepted to become a cleric in the first place; do you remember?" Jaga saw a small nod from the cheetah. "If Lion-O is the one that you love, then don't let anything stop you from following your heart."

"Master, I can't; he is the crown prince, and I am but a commoner," she told him.

"Maybe, maybe not, but for tonight it will not matter," Jaga said just as a small knock sounded on her door.

Cheetara looked to her master and then got up from her bedside and walked over to the door. When she opened it, she saw the elderly panther shop keeper on the other side. In her arms was a rather large box. Cheetara looked back to Jaga, and he just gave a small smile.

"I was told that I could find you here, Lord Jaga; I have the package that you asked for," the panther said.

"Ah, good, do come in and set it on the bed," Jaga told her as he moved aside so that she could. Once it was on the bed Jaga turned to Cheetara. "Why don't you open it, my dear?"

Cheetara looked between the two of them before she walked up to the box and untied the string that held it together. Lifting the top off Cheetara noticed the navy blue evening dress that Lion-O was looking at last night. Tears threaten to well up again looking at the dress. She ran her hand over the silken fabric and wondered what it would feel like on her skin.

"I think that a certain prince would love to see you in this," Jaga told her in a fatherly tone. Cheetara just looked at him with a questioning look on her face. "Claudus, consented to let you be the prince's escort. It took some doing, but I convinced him that he would be better protected it his cleric guardian was with him at all times and was able to blend in with the crowd."

Cheetara knew exactly what this would mean. She would be arm in arm with her prince and would be able to interact with him like she was any of the other noble women in the ball room. She had known that she would attend the ball tonight, but she never dreamed that it would be amongst the crowd and not as a shadow on the outskirts just watching.

"Now Master Jaga, I must ask you to leave if we are to get this pretty thing ready for her prince," the shop keeper said, as she showed the Master Cleric out of the room. Once he was gone, she looked back to Cheetara. "Now my dear, let's get you ready to be on the arm of our crown prince and make the rest of the ladies envious of you," she chuckled.

* * *

Lion-O paced back and forth in his father's office. He had an inkling of an idea of what his father wanted to talk to him about, and the lion prince didn't want to even hear about it. There was only one woman he wanted on his arm tonight, but after the other day that thought was a far off dream. Granted, he would play the good son and crown prince, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear a pep talk from his father.

There was also the weird conversation he had with that creature that claimed to be the spirit of the Eye of Thundera. He still had a hard time believing its claim, but as he thought on it throughout the day, he had a feeling that he needed to heed its warning. Lion-O had sent word to his sources about what the Spirit told him, but there had been no word from them as of yet. It was just one more thing he had to worry about.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted him to his father's approach. The young prince took in a deep breath and did his best to keep him calm through this talk, whatever it might be about. The door opened and Lion-O spotted his father with both his brother, Tygra, and Jaga behind him. A quick look from his brother told Lion-O this was going to be a long night with his brother doing everything to make it hell for him.

Turning away from the tiger to concentrate on his father, Lion-O noticed that like himself his father was dressed in his finest clothes for tonight. He was not sure how his father felt about being all dressed up, but Lion-O hated the feeling of the high collar around his neck. It itched and felt like it was choking him.

"Thank you for coming to see me, my son," Claudus addressed Lion-O. "I know tonight's ball is something that you do not want to participate in, but I want to make sure that you will not make Thundera look foolish tonight."

"At least we agree on something, Father," Lion-O said to steady himself. He was getting irritated by his father's words. "You don't have to worry, Father; I may not like what you are trying to do, but it is for the good of the kingdom, and I will play the good son. For tonight," he added at the end.

Claudus felt his temper rise at his son's last words, but a quick glance over to Jaga quickly calmed him. He had to remember that Lion-O was getting older and demanding things like this would only get him to rebel even more than he already was.

"Thank you, Lion-O; that is all I can ask for, aside from one more thing."

"If it is about spending some time with the young lady you have tried to set me up with for tonight, do not worry, Father; I will do my best to entertain her," Lion-O said and then noticed the smirk on his brother's face.

"Then we are agreed," Claudus said. "Now, if you and your brother will excuse us, I would like to talk to Master Jaga alone."

"Yes father," the brother said as one; they both gave a slight bow before turning to leave.

Once outside of his father's office, Lion-O started to head outside. He had not seen Cheetara all day and it was beginning to worry him that he had done something wrong or something to offend her. The worry must have been evident on his face because his brother quickly picked up on it.

"So what did you do to run off your babysitter?" he teased. "Guess I'll have to go find her and console the poor girl," he chuckled.

"Stuff it, Tygra; I'm in no mood for you right now."

"Seems I struck a nerve again," the tiger laughed.

Lion-O let out a deep growl, but kept walking. He had way too many things on his mind right now to be dealing with his idiotic brother and the way he always seemed to try to pick a fight with him. There were times he wished he was an only child, something that he was sure his brother thought as well.

"Oh well, guess since you will have your hands full with all the young ladies, it will be a good time to let her know how I feel," Tygra said aloud hoping to get a rise out of his little brother, "seeing that you're too much of a coward to do it."

"Tygra, I'm warning you; leave me alone and drop this issue," Lion-O said still not looking at his brother.

"Is that a threa,t little brother? You can't do anything; you're nothing but a weakling fool, and tonight I will make sure the whole kingdom sees it, even your beloved cheetah cleric."

Lion-O stopped in his tracks and took several deep calming breaths. He clinched his fists several times all in the process of trying to remain calm. Yet it was not working, enough was enough. The hit came so fast that Tygra didn't have time to react. All he knew was now his jaw hurt and he was on his butt. Looking up, he saw Lion-O standing over him, his blue eyes a blaze with fury and anger.

"Brother or no, I promise you, Tygra, that if you do or say anything to Cheetara, you will feel pain like you've never known before," Lion-O hissed through clinched teeth. "That is no threat, Brother; that is a promise."

Lion-O turned and walked away from the stunned tiger. Tygra had never seen his brother so angry and never felt him hit so hard before. There was something different about him, and he was not sure what it was. However, he would be damned if he would let that punch go.

"You'll pay for that, little brother; before the end of the night you will pay."

* * *

The ball room was already filling with people from all over Thundera and the outlying territories. None of the nobles would ever dare miss a celebration that the king put on. For some of them it was the only chance they would get throughout the year to speak to their king. For others it was just a chance to swap gossip about the goings on in court. Regardless the reason, all knew that a royal ball was not to be missed.

Each noble house was announced as they entered the ball room and Claudus was there just inside the door to greet his guests. His eldest son was standing next to him, and the king worried a bit about the tiger prince's swollen lip. He had a good idea about where it came from, seeing how his young son was not present like he should have been. The king started to become concern that Lion-O would break the promise to him so quickly tonight. That was until he felt a presence slip up next to him.

Claudus looked over to see Lion-O there. He gave him a questioning look, and only got an 'I'll tell you later' look back from his son. Now was not the time to speak with him. The king's ears perked up at the announcement of the next noble family. He elbowed Lion-O to look towards the entrance.

As the young lion prince did, he notice a very attractive young lioness walking behind two older lions. By his father's reaction and the way he greeted the elder pair, Lion-O was sure that this was the female that his father had chosen for him. He had to be honest that his father knew how to pick them. Her red hair not a bright as his own and came half way down her back. The teal dress she wore hugged her in all the right places, and Lion-O caught himself staring as she walked up to him and curtseyed.

"Your Highness, Prince Lion-O, I would like to introduce my daughter, Lillian," her father said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness, Prince Lion-O," she said in a small but sensual voice.

Lion-O was beside himself as he took her hand that she offered and placed a gentle kiss on it. He looked into her golden eyes and was lost for a moment. That was until his father said something to break the connection.

"Lion-O, why don't you show Lord Nekolo and his family to their table?"

"Yes, Father," Lion-O said. "This way please." He motioned for them to follow him.

As they walked, Lion-O looked to his left to see that Lillian had wrapped her arm around his. She smiled up at him only for him to give her a soft smile in return. He was grateful to his father pulling him out of the trance that Lillian seemed to quickly put him in. He was only being gracious out of respect for his father and nothing else.

She seemed like a very kind and sweet girl, but she would never win his heart. That belonged to another and he would never give it to anyone else but her. Nothing and no one would ever change that. He did feel bad that Lillian, while a very attractive young woman, would end up going home tonight broken-hearted. It made him feel guilty knowing this fact, but he could not control who his heart belonged to.

* * *

The entire guest list had arrived and the ball was in full swing. Lion-O was on the dance floor with Lillian. Yet as he danced with her, he was looking at every Cleric in the room to see if he could spot one certain cheetah. He saw his father talking with several nobles as well as General Grune. The lion prince was not sure when the saber tooth general had arrived. Still looking about the room as he spun Lillian around, he also noticed that Tygra was searching as well even though he had several courtiers on his arm.

The two made eye contact for a few brief seconds and then he noticed his brother look behind him. The look in his eyes was one of shock. Something or someone had caught his eye and Lion-O turned to see what it was. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. Standing at the top of a small flight of steps was the most beautiful woman that the young prince had ever seen.

Dressed in a navy blue evening dress and standing at the top of the steps was Cheetara. She held her hands in front of her trying her best not to fidget. She was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been in her life. As she stood there overlooking the people gathered together in small groups talking and even more out on the dance floor, it made her feel like everyone in the room was looking at her. Thought quite a few young men looked her way giving her body the once over, the cheetah maiden never paid them any attention. She was looking for one cat in a crowd.

She noticed the king look in her direction, and she gave him a slight bow of the head to pay her respect, which he returned as well. This was a bit odd for her to see him do this. What was even more odd was when she noticed him look over to the dance floor. Cheetara was not sure if the King was trying to tell her something, but she gazed over to where he was looking and spotted a pair of sea blue eyes staring back at her.

"Is everything alright, Prince Lion-O?" Lillian asked, worried when the prince stopped dancing and just stood there.

She looked in the direction that the prince was gazing and noticed the cheetah standing on the landing leading down to the ball room floor. It didn't take her long to realize that the two of them knew each other. She looked back to Lion-O and then to the cheetah once again, and it looked like they were speaking volumes with just a look. The young lioness knew that she had lost the battle for the prince's heart right then and there.

"Yout Highness," she spoke again.

"Yes, I'm sorry; if you'll excuse me there's someone I need to go talk to," Lion-O said as he walked her back to her table. Lillian stood there for a moment and watched him walk away. She felt a bit crushed, but she knew well enough that she would do nothing to get in the way of what the prince wanted.

Lion-O approached Cheetara and was thankful that his brother was on the other side of the room. It gave the young prince a chance to get to her before Tygra did. As he approached her, his blue eyes looked her over. It was the dress from the shop last night, and just as he thought, it looked absolutely perfect on her. Hugging the curves of her body in all the right places, it was low cut in the front showing off just the right amount of cleavage. Her hair was pulled back from her face into a hair style that fit her perfectly.

"May I have this dance?" Lion-O heard a male panther ask her as he got closer.

"No, thank you; I am waiting for my dance partner," Cheetara replied never taking her eyes off Lion-O as he walked up the steps. "Evening, Your Highness; you look very dashing tonight."

The panther saw who she was talking to and quickly bowed his head and moved off. He was cursing the lion prince in his mind for being so lucky to have the cheetah's attention solely on him.

"You, look….wow," was about all Lion-O could say at first. "How?"

"Jaga," Cheetara answered. "He convinced your father that I could better protect you if I could blend in with the crowd."

"Then I will have to thank him later. Now Lady Cheetara, would you do me the honor of a dance?" he asked offering his arm.

She never said a word, just nodded as she wrapped her arm around his. Walking down the steps and out to the dance floor, Cheetara felt like she was one of the ladies of noble birth. Walking out onto the dance floor, she felt many eyes on her, but she didn't care anymore. She focused on the eyes of her prince before her. She felt him take her in his arms, a feeling that she had waited for so long for. When the soft music began to play, she was lost in his eyes, forgetting that she was only here like this now because it was part of her job. Right now all she wanted to do was be close to the man that she loved.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Sorry it took me a couple of days to get this chapter out, been working six days weeks for the past two weeks and spent Sunday just veg'ing when I normally write. But I knuckled down and got this one out. As you read there's going to be a few changes that you will notice with some of the characters, and for those who I know been waiting for it some more action :)

Want to thank everyone for their wonderful review's and wish that someone of you would leave a way to send you back a reply to them.

Also like to thank Bronwynn for editing this chapter for me both she and Prairie24 have been a big help.

* * *

_**Chapter VI**_

Claudus watched his son dance around the floor with his cheetah guardian. It was against his better judgment for allowing this to happen, but Jaga's words the other day rang true, and seeing the two of them together made it clear. As much as he had hoped seeing Lady Lillian would change his son's mind it was clear that she didn't have a big enough impact.

It was Jaga who had reminded him about when he first met his wife, and the situation behind their meeting. Claudus' father had disapproved of whom Claudus had decided to marry, and his father had put up every road block possible to keep Claudus and Leona apart. No matter what his father had done, Claudus had ended up marrying Leona. It seemed that his son was just like him in that respect. He let out a deep sigh. Just thinking about his wife made him miss her all the more. Watching Lion-O with this female made it very clear—he was in love with her.

He knew that if he fought against Lion-O's heart that in the end it would put a bigger strain on their relationship, as the jaguar had said. Jaga warned him that it could very well end up like Claudus' relationship with his own father. Claudus could not do that—ending up like his own father would go against everything that his beloved wife Leona had wanted for their son. No, he was not going to tarnish her memory and her wishes for Lion-O, nor was he going to put any more strains on his relationship with his son.

"They look quite happy, do they not sire?" Jaga's said softly as he stood next to the Kings seat.

"They do indeed old friend." Claudus said with a soft smile on his face. "Thank you for helping me realize that I was repeating what had happened with my father."

Jaga just nodded to his King then looked back out onto the dance floor. It did his old heart good to see his adopted daughter dancing with Lion-O. He may be old but he was not blind in seeing how she looked at him. There was love between them, now if they would only admit their feelings to one another. However, it seemed that the ancients were standing against them. Worry began to set in as he watched Tygra walk over to them on the dance floor. Apparently Jaga was not the only one sense it. He felt the tension starting to come off the King as Tygra approached his brother.

* * *

Tygra could not believe his eyes when he watched her walk into the room. She looked absolutely radiant, and the smile on her face was like nothing he had seen before. At first he thought it was directed toward him as she seemed to be looking in his direction but as he moved to go to her, Tygra spotted his brother walking up the steps. A deep low growl emanated from the tiger prince as he watched Lion-O greet her, the smile on her face growing wider. Watching her walk down the steps arm in arm with Lion-O infuriated him even more.

Tygra had watched them from the sidelines as they had danced to several songs. He had been certain that their father would intervene in this matter; he had after all set Lion-O up with a date for the night. Yet, as he looked over to where his father sat, the anger welled up even more. The King was doing nothing to stop Lion-O from dancing with Cheetara, a commoner. If his father was not going to do something about this then he was determined to take the matter into his own hands.

He downed a fourth glass of wine in less than an hour and started to make his way over to the couple. Had it not been for the crowd of very important people in the room, Tygra would have given in to his anger and returned the favor that his brother had given him earlier in the day.

"May I cut in?" Tygra asked them.

* * *

Cheetara was enjoying herself dancing across the floor. The added bonus that she was dancing in the arms of her prince was more than the cheetah could have asked for. The feeling of his strong arm around her waist as he held her close was better than she ever imagined. Although he had held her the night she had gone with him into the city, it had been nothing like this. This was gentler and almost loving; however, she had to keep her mind off of those thoughts. In spite of the dress she was wearing and the ball she was enjoying, she was still only a commoner.

The smile on her face changed when she heard the tiger prince behind her, asking her to dance. She was grateful that she had her back to the tiger and Lion-O's attention was too focused on his brother. She could see the anger starting to build in his eyes. She could not be sure, but her instincts where telling her that she was the root cause of it. She needed to stop this before it got out of hand, before Jaga regretted speaking to the king on her behalf.

She schooled her face and turned around to greet Tygra. She immediately smelled the wine on his breath, and she could tell that he was very close to being drunk. Cheetara knew that she needed to do something—Tygra may be a prince, but he was not the prince with whom she wanted to dance. However, she quickly realized that she had no choice.

Knowing that she might upset Lion-O even more, she responded. "I would be happy to," she said with a bright smile, taking the hand that Tygra was offering her.

* * *

Lion-O was in his own world, a world in which no one existed except himself the cheetah he held in his arms. He had been blown away seeing her on the steps, wearing the dress that he had seen in the shop window the other night. Everything was perfect tonight now that he had this woman in his arms. He didn't know why his father had not come down from his table and try to put a stop to this, nor did he care. Maybe he just hadn't seen them yet? Whatever the reason, he was going to enjoy with Cheetara while it lasted.

But fate stepped in and crushed his plans once again—only instead of his father it was his brother getting in his way. He did his best to contain the growl of possessiveness that he wanted to let out when his brother asked to cut in.

When Cheetara didn't answer him at first, he was hopping that she was thinking of a polite way of declining the invitation. However, when she turned around to answer him with a bright smile on his face, anger and hurt surged through him. He feared that she had been waiting for the tiger to come get her, he felt a sting in his chest as he watched them walk hand-in-hand to another part of the dance floor. The feeling worsened worse when he saw his brother pull her close to him as started dancing. Then Tygra looked over at him, giving him the look that Lion-O had seen every time the tiger had beaten him at something. He could no longer watch. He shoved past others on the floor, heading for a balcony in search of air to cool his head.

* * *

As she stood off to one side of the dance floor Lillian watched the exchanged between the brothers. She thought nothing of it at first, until she watched Lion-O storm off the dance floor and outside onto one of the balconies. He was clearly upset over what had just happened. Although she was hurt by the way the lion had ignored her when the cheetah arrived, she was not heartless.

The tiger prince had come up to her earlier in the evening. Unlike the other girls at the ball, she was not impressed with the way he carried himself or by the fact that he acted as if her were god's gift to all the females on Third Earth. Several of the other ladies had given her grief for turning down his offer. Lillian had just ignored them, and when she heard a slap coming from the direction of the tiger prince she knew someone else had thought the same thing.

Lillian watched the cheetah walk away from Tygra and she had a good feeling that she was looking for Lion-O. Normally she didn't get involved with the affairs of others, but she set her drink down and headed toward the door the younger brother had exited.

* * *

Lion-O leaned on the stone rail looking up at the three moons. The cool air of the evening had done the job of calming his anger and hurt. He felt betrayed for some reason. It was not like Cheetara was his—far from it, and he knew that if she was dancing with his brother, that it would only be a matter of time before he lost her to him completely.

He let out a deep sigh and then heard the door opening behind him. He was certain that it was Tygra coming out here to gloat about beating him again. He sucked in a calming breath before uttering a word.

"If you're here to gloat about how you've won again, I don't want to hear it," Lion-O said, only looking at the garden below.

"I'm sorry your highness, I did not come here to gloat about anything, only to see how you were." Lillian asked timidly, wondering if she had made a mistake.

"Lady Lillian, I'm sorry I thought…" Lion-O started, but then stopped.

"You thought I was your brother, here to rub it in that he took the cheetah maiden from you." She finished and only got a nod from the Lion prince. "I know this is not my place to interfere between you and your brother, but Prince Lion-O you didn't lose to him."

Lion-O turned, and the questioning look he gave her indicated to Lillian that he did not believe her. She gave him a soft smile and stepped closer to him. Placing a gentle hand on his arm she looked up into his eyes.

"The way you look at her… I envy her." Lillian said then put a hand up to stop Lion-O from apologizing. "I know that our parents set this arrangement up for the good of the kingdom and themselves. I was nervous at first. The thoughts of marrying a man that I have never met before scared me, but I was willing to do what I had to," she said looking up to the moons for a moment then back to him. "I knew that you were not happy about the whole thing, but when I met you, I know that I could fall in love with you over time. However, after seeing your cheetah maiden walk in the door, seeing how your eyes lit up… I knew that it would not be the same in return."

"Lady Lillian, I'm sorry."

"I know your highness and you have nothing to be sorry about. You love her and I can see that, and from how I saw you interact together, the love is mutual. I will not be the one to interfere with that. I only hope that I will meet someone who is as kind and gentle as you are someday—someone who will look upon me with the same loving look that you give the cheetah."

"It can't be." Lion-O said turning away from her.

"Finding someone to complete you the way the two of you complete each other is very rare in this world your highness, so please, if I may, promise me you won't let this chance slip past you," she said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze and then letting it go. "She's looking for you right now." She told him before heading toward the door.

Lion-O watched Lillian walk toward the door. He hoped what she said was true, but it did make him feel better knowing the maybe Cheetara felt the same way for him as he did for her. He was about to thank her for her advice when something above her caught his eye. At first it didn't register until it moved—a lizard, and it was about ready to pounce on Lillian.

Lion-O didn't think, he just reacted and in one giant leap he tackled Lillian to the ground and rolled the two of them out of the way just as an arrow slammed into the ground were they had been. The lizard gave a hiss of frustration when he saw that he had missed.

"Are you alright?" Lion-O asked Lillian who was underneath him. She just nodded and was still in a bit of shock from the sudden tackle. "Alright, when I get up run for the door and to your parents. Get them and yourself out of here."

"What about you sire?" she asked with concern.

"No need to worry about me," he told her. "This lizard and I need to have a talk."

Lillian noticed that Lion-O's oft blue eyes had gone dark. There was fire in his eyes and it concerned her a bit, but she would make no comment now. She would do as the prince had requested.

The lizard jumped down from its perch on the roof and drew an object, pointing something at the two of them. Lion-O slowly got up, watching his opponent. He was not sure what that thing was, but it was some sort of technology. He snarled at the creature, keeping himself between it and Lillian. Then the sound of explosions could be heard at the palace gates. The lizard looked away for a split second and Lion-O knew it was time to strike.

"Now!" he yelled to Lillian as he cleared the distance between him and the lizard.

By the time he looked back to the cats, it was too late. Lion-O was on him, using his claws in a large sweeping action across the lizard's face. It cried out in pain from the strike and dropped it's weapon. Lion-O quickly picked it up and used the blade on the front to gut the lizard.

Lillian had made it to the door just in time to hear the cry of pain from the lizard. When she turned to see, she just about retched .The kind gentle prince that she had just spoken to had been replaced with a harden warrior. She stood there and looked at the man standing over his slain victim. He had protected her at the risk of his own life, and she knew that even if she could not have him as her future husband, Lion-O would have her loyalty till her dying day.

* * *

Sounds of screams broke both Lillian and Lion-O from their thoughts. They were coming from the ballroom and a sick feeling settled into Lion-O's stomach. It only worsened when he heard his father's battle roar. With the lizard's weapon still in his hands he ran inside to find his father getting knocked to the ground by Grune. He looked around the room, spotting more lizards breaking through the windows.

He was worried about Cheetara, but the lion knew that she could handle herself. Getting the guests quickly and safely out of the palace had to come first, before they were killed by the lizards, and the traitor Grune. He summoned a few of the guards and nearby Cleric.

"Get the guest out of here and guard them with you lives." Lion-O ordered.

"Sire, the King?" One Cleric responded.

"I will help my father, now do as I command." He snapped at them then looked to Lillian. "Go with them and be safe." He told her then giving her a quick thank you kiss on her cheek.

Lillian was stunned by how quickly he had changed from the hardened warrior back to the gentle prince she had first met. She didn't get a chance to say anything in return as he quickly ran off before the guards and Cleric that he had tasked with protecting the people lead her away.

"Please by safe your Highness, your people will need you." She said to herself before turning to find her parents.

* * *

Cheetara was angry with herself as well as Tygra. She had made it clear to him that she was not interested when he had said something about forgetting his brother and going off with him. Yet he had pressed the issue, and had touched her in an inappropriate way. He deserved the slap across the face that she gave him and she didn't care what anyone around her had thought. She became even more aggravated when she was unable to find her prince.

She could only imagine what he must have been thinking when she went with to dance with his brother. The cheetah thought for sure that he now felt betrayed and that thought gnawed away at her. She needed to find him, explain everything to him. She was loyal to him and him alone. Yet no matter where she looked she could not find him. It was as if the ancients were keeping them apart.

The sound of explosions followed by cries from the guests in the ballroom made Cheetara's heart sink. She was here to protect Lion-O, yet she could not find him. Then the mighty roar of the King was heard and instinct kicked in. Using her lightning speed she ran back toward the ballroom. By the time she got there the room was already in chaos. The guests were quickly trying to get out of the room to safety. As she got closer she spotted a couple of Clerics who were not where they should be.

"Why are you not helping the King and the Princes?" she said to one of them after she took out a lizard.

"We were ordered by Prince Lion-O to protect the guests." he answered back, fighting off another lizard.

"Where is the Prince?" she asked hoping that he had already gotten out.

"In there fighting the lizards with Jaga and his father and brother."

Cheetara stomach lurched once again. If anything happened to him and she was not there to watch his back then she would never forgive herself. Making her way past the lizard that was trying to get to the guests, Cheetara stopped in her tracks when she spotted Lion-O. The weapon in his hand was nothing she had seen before but the way the Lion-O was using it amazed her. She spotted another lizard sneaking in behind her prince and she quickly acted.

* * *

Lion-O was doing everything he could to get to his father and help him fight Grune. Yet another lizard appeared at every turn to block his path. He wished he had a sword, but all that he had was the weapon he had taken from the lizard outside. The blade on it was doing the job but not as well as he wished it would. He was so focused on what was in front of him as he moved slowly to his father, that he didn't realize he was about to be attacked from behind.

Lion-O heard the hard thud and groan of another lizard dropping to the ground. He looked behind him only to see the worried but smiling face of his Cleric. They locked eyes for a moment and without uttering a word she nodded in understanding. He was grateful for her acknowledgement before he turned to his father, determined to get to him.

The two of them began to make their way toward the King. Their progress was slow, fighting what seemed to be an endless amount of lizards. Explosions and cries could be heard out from the city and both Lion-O and Cheetara knew that the city was also being attacked. As much as Lion-O wanted to get out there and protect the city, he could not bring himself to leave his father.

'General Grune, we have it," A lizard hissed.

He looked in the direction of the lizard who had just spoken and saw what it had referred to—they had his father's sword and shield. A deep growl emanated from his throat at the thought of a slimy lizard touching the Sword of Omens. Seeing one of the lizards do it before, Lion-O raised the weapon he had and pointed the blade in the lizard's direction. Seconds later Lion-O pulled the trigger and a beam of green light came out of the weapon and struck the lizard holding the sword.

Cheetara was stunned at what the weapon her prince held was able to do. She had seen him use the small grappling device that shot out a line but never thought that one could kill from such a distance. The sword fell out of his hand and skidded across the floor toward Lion-O who put his foot on the sword to stop it.

"Give it here boy, and I may spare your father." Grune growled out as he held his mace ready to strike.

"Don't stay! Take it and leave! Do not let Thundera fall!" Claudus yelled to his son.

"You're too late for that old friend," Grune said with a chuckle, "Right now Mumm-Ra's forces are sweeping through the city killing every cat they find."

"Mumm-Ra is a myth." Cheetara said in return.

"I assure you that I am no myth my dear." Came a strained hiss from behind.

Both of them turned and saw a decrepit old man covered in bandages wearing a red cloak. Lion-O stood firm as he watched the creature claiming to me Mumm-Ra walk over to Grune and his father. He could see Cheetara shudder slightly next to him. Granted seeing the thing that everyone thought was only a myth did send a shiver down his spine, but he wouldn't let it show outwardly.

"Hand over the sword now, whelp, and I will spare your father's life." Mumm-Ra hissed.

"Don't Lion-O, do not give it to him," Cheetara said before flying back as a bold of green energy hit her in the chest.

"Shut up you harlot," Grune said with a smirk on his face.

Lion-O looked to Cheetara and then back to Grune. He let out a deep growl toward the saber cat. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tygra come up next to him, blood was splattered on him from the Lizards he'd killed. Lion-O didn't know what smelled worse on his brother, the smell of the blood or the stench of wine.

"We can take them Lion-O." Tygra said with a slight slur.

"Get Cheetara out of here and see to the city." Lion-O told him, reaching down to pick up the sword.

"You can't order me around! We have to save father." Tygra argued with him.

"I can and I will tell you what to do." He said gripping the sword in his hands then watching it grow to its full size, the red eye in the hilt shining brightly. "The sword spirit has chosen me as its new master and as such I now rule over Thundera. Now go, I will get father.

Tygra looked at his brother and then at the sword. He had never seen it react like that before, not even for his father. Thunderan law stated that whoever held the power of the sword ruled Thundera, and right now that was his brother.

"I'm counting on you to save him." Tygra said.

"And I am counting on you to keep Cheetara and the city safe. Now go!" He boomed.

Grune, Mumm-Ra and Claudus watched on as the brothers talked. Claudus had never seen the sword so alive as it was now with his son holding it. He looked on and watched as Lion-O tested the feel of the sword in his grip and he could have sworn that he saw a Cat-like beast standing behind him, roaring when Lion-O pointed the sword toward Grune and Mumm-Ra.

"You insolent little brat, that stone belongs to me—stolen from me by your ancestor. I will have what is rightfully mine," Mumm-Ra hissed in anger, "give it to me now or your father will pay for your mistake."

"As long as a descendent of Leo still draws breath you will never have the stone." Claudus snapped.

"Then I will rid myself of every one of his descendant's and claim what is mine," He said, looking to Claudus, his eyes glowing a lavender color. He raised his hand and shot another bolt at Claudus, sending him flying back into his throne.

"Father!" Lion-O yelled then looked to Mumm-Ra letting out a deep feral growl. "You will pay for bringing harm to those that I love."

Loin-O charged the mummy, slaughtering every lizard that got in his way with a large swing of the sword. He moved faster than he ever did before, as if the sword itself was granting him power he had never known before. Bodies started to fly in every direction as he cut a bloody path to Mumm-Ra. He was within striking distance and was about to make a leaping strike as he caught the motion of Grune's mighty mace swinging for his head.

Lion-O ducked and rolled out of the way of Grune's mace, quickly getting back onto his feet. All the years he had spent training to use a sword as well as his nightly excursions out into the city were helping him stay one step ahead of the big Saber tooth.

"Stand still so I can smash you, then you can join your father and I can then go spend some quality time with that little cheetah of yours." Grune taunted.

* * *

Cheetara came to with a deep groan. Every part of her body ached from the blast that she was struck with. Screams of pain and sounds of crying came flooding into her ears as she started tp get her bearings about her again. Her vision was still a bit unfocused, but it was enough to know that she was no longer in the ballroom. Then it hit her—if she was not there then were was Lion-O? She sat bolt upright, instantly regretting doing so as a wave of pain washed over her.

"Good to see you awake," a gruff voice said.

"Where is Lion-O?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Still in the palace trying to save his father," he said again.

It took her a few more moments to get her vision back, and when she did she saw someone she hadn't seen since she was a young child. He had a few more scars than he had the last time she had seen him, but seeing him put a smile on her face even in the desperate situation.

"Panthro," she said softly.

"Easy Cheetara, you took a nasty hit," said a female voice.

Cheetara looked to her side and noticed a puma kneeling down next to her offering her some water. She looked back to Panthro with a question look on her face.

"Cheetara meet Pumyra. I rescued her from a labor camp on the way back home," Panthro said. "And those two over there are Willy Kit and Kat, best scouts that you will ever find on Thundera," he said nodding to small kittens perched up on the second story of a destroyed building. "We found you and Prince drunk over there after taking out a squad of Lizard soldiers," Panthro said folding his arms across his chest. "I'm surprised that he made it this far with you."

"Enough about the Prince's shortcomings dear," Pumyra said, "right now we need to get to a safer location," she said.

"Your right."

"No," Cheetara interrupted, "we need to get back to the palace and find Lion-O and the King."

"You are in no condition for a fight, and neither is the prince," Panthro said as he looked down at her.

"I'm his Cleric, it's my job to protect him," she said trying to force back the tears as nightmarish thought ran through her mind about her Prince.

Pumyra and Panthro shared a look the spoke volumes, then the General nodded to her. He took in a deep breath before kneeling down next to Cheetara. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

"Go with Pumyra and Kit, and I'll go find the rest of the royal family," he told her before looking to Pumyra, "I'll be back before you know it."

"Please do and be safe," the younger puma said then leaned over and give the older General a gentle kiss.

"Kit, stay here with Pumyra. Kat, you're with me. We've got a Prince and a King to find." He roared before heading off towards the palace.

* * *

Lion-O was breathing hard as he stood there planning his next attack on Grune. So far the Saber tooth was blocking his every move and Lion-O was only able to get a few blows on him. One the other hand, Grune had come close to crushing him under the weight of his mace. The only thing that protecting him was self-administered training to prepare for his time out in the city. Lion-O knew that he was going to have to make himself a bigger target and force Grune to leave himself open. However, his timing needed to be just right for it to pay off.

"Give up already boy, Thundera has fallen. I promise you that your end will be swift," Grune said.

"Not a chance," Lion-O answered.

Grune was cocky and thought that he had already won this fight, and Lion-O figured that he could use this to his advantage. A plan formed in his head and he smirked at the thought of it. He looked up at Grune and raised the sword getting ready attack again.

"You only want me to give up because you know that you can't defeat me or my father, that's why you attacked him like the coward you are," Lion-O taunted. "You will be nothing but someone's lackey doing there bidding for them, just like you did with my father and now with Mumm-Ra," he said chuckling. "I don't see how you were ever promoted to General," Lion-O finished, knowing that his words would taunt him.

"I'm going to show you how I became general," Grune said through gritted teeth.

"General, stop playing around and get me that stone," Mumm-Ra hissed.

Grune let out a deep aggravated growl as he heard his new master's orders. It burned him up hearing the cub prince taunting him. He tightened his grip on his mace and rushed the young Lion-O prince. Lion-O knew this moment was his one chance to put an end to this once and for all. He waited for the last possible moment before launching his attack. He moved toward Grune just as his mace started to swing down upon his head. Green bolts of energy sparked all around it causing huge amounts of dust to engulf the two of them.

* * *

When the dust settled the two were still standing, trying hard to catch their breaths. Claudus was now conscious and had witnessed the attack. He prayed to his ancestors that his son would come out on top. Yet he sucked in a breath when he saw his son drop to one knee using the sword as a support. He had thought for sure that Grune had made his final blow. That was until he heard Grune's mace fall to the ground and watched as the traitor drop to his knees.

He pulled himself up to get a better look at what was going on. Lion-O was on his feet again and was making his way toward the fallen Saber tooth. Using the Sword of Omen's blade he raised Grune's head to look at him for a moment then to Mumm-Ra. The look on his Son's face was one he never expected to see, but it was one that made him very proud.

"Thundera, may be broken, but we will rebuild, and will always oppose the dark forces you command, mummy," Lion-O spat, "and any traitor that follows you will end up with the same fate as this one."

Claudus watched as Lion-O raised the sword; his eyes started to glow as he quickly brought it down on Grune's neck separating his head from his shoulders. Lion-O kicked the now dead General toward Mumm-Ra's feet and pointed the sword at him.

"Your General is dead, and from what I can tell the cats of Thundera are starting to fight back against your army. So who will fight for you now? A descendent of my ancestor, Leo, is standing before you and still defies your rule."

Mumm-Ra looked to Grune's headless body and then to the young lion before him. A smirk came across his face and the he started laughing—a laugh that would send a chill down anyone's spine. The mummy stood as upright as he could and looked coldly at Lion-O.

"I do not need any animal to fight my battles for me, Thundercat. I am Mumm-Ra the ever-living," he said, letting out a deep evil laugh again.

* * *

**End Notes: **Okay so I'm sure some of you are wondering what going on with the other four Thundercats. I'll explain more in the next chapter about them, but sufficed to say I was never happy with how they betrayed Pumra in the show so I changed her a bit, well quite a bit. Hope everyone enjoyed this round hope to have the next round out by next week, if everything goes as planned.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait on this next chapter, I had a bit of writers block about half way through and had to step away from it and refresh my brain. Yet here it is ready to be read and hopefully for your enjoyment. There were several part in here that got myself choked and I hope that it will have the same affect on my loyal readers.

Once again like to thank everyone for their reviews, knowing that you enjoy this story mean the world to me. Would also like to thank Prairie24 for editing this chapter for me Thank :)

* * *

_"Your General is dead, and from what I can tell the cats of Thundera are starting to fight back against your army. So who will fight for you now, because a descendent of my ancestor Leo is standing before you and still defies your rule?"_

_Mumm-Ra looked to Grune's headless body and then to the young lion before him. A smirk came across his face and then he started laughing in a way that would send a chill down anyone's spine. The mummy stood as upright as he could and looked coldly at Lion-O._

_"I do not need any animal to fight my battles for me, Thundercat. I am Mumm-Ra, the ever living," he said letting out a deep evil laugh again._

**Chapter VII**

Lion-O stood firmly where he was, the Sword gripped tightly in his hand. It hummed to him, and he could feel the dark energy start to flow off of the mummy before him. He was not sure what was going on, but he could feel the sword's power start to increase as well. There was no doubt in the prince's mind that the sword and Mumm-Ra were old enemies.

"I will have what is mine and I will not let you or any cat stand in my way," Mumm-Ra hissed. "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decrepit body into Mumm-Ra the Ever Living."

* * *

Panthro and Kat had just run into the room when a bright flash of purple light flooded their eyes. An evil laugh could be heard and it made the hair on the back of the old general's neck stand up on end. He had never felt or heard anything like that before. He gripped his nun chucks tighter as they rounded the corner to look into the ballroom. He quickly spotted Lion-O in a fight with a creature that he thought was only legend. Sparks were coming from both the sword that Lion-O was carrying and the creature he was fighting.

He scanned the room again trying to think of any way to help the young prince out, but as far as he could see Lion-O was doing a good enough job with his father's sword in his hands. However, Panthro did see something that he could help out with.

"Kat," Panthro said nudging the young cat. "Let's see if we can sneak around and help them out," the general said, pointing over to where the king and Jaga were.

Kat nodded to him and started to move around the battle between the lion prince and demon creature. As they moved around the ballroom to get to the king and the head cleric, Panthro noticed a headless body lying in the floor. He didn't recognize it at first with all the rubble from the battle but he soon did. He let a deep satisfying smirk cross his face seeing that it was Grune. He only wished that he was the one to bring him to his end for everything he did to betray him.

"General, I thought…" Claudus said weakly as he saw his old friend.

"It's good to see you as well, Your Majesty," Panthro said with a smile on his face. "Can you move?" he asked.

"I think I can, but what about Lion-O?" Claudus asked with worry on his face.

It was the first time that Panthro had seen his king show any kind of real concern for his youngest boy. He knew the man loved Lion-O; there was no doubt about that. The old panther could see worry in his eyes as he looked at his boy. Panthro look over to see Lion-O go skidding across the polished marble floor, the claws of his left hand digging into it to stay upright. The young lion let out a deep growl, quickly got back on his feet, and dodged another blast of energy from the creature.

"I think he'll be fine for now," Panthro told Claudus. "Kat, help Master Jaga and let's get them out of here. I'm sure Pumyra is already headed this way," he told the kitten.

"Okay, let's get going old guy," Kat said, helping the master cleric to his feet.

* * *

Lion-O blocked another attack from Mumm-Ra. He was breathing hard again, but nothing was going to stop him from protecting the city and those he loved from the vile creature. Even if it meant it cost his own life, it was something that he thought was worth it. He knew that if he could not stop Mumm-Ra that he would come back again. This was something that Lion-O could not let happen. The city had suffered enough, and he knew that it could not stand another assault. Let alone the fact that his father wasn't well enough to stand against the evil mummy.

He chanced a looked over at his father, only to see someone moving in his direction. That one distraction was enough for Mumm-Ra to send another bolt of energy toward him. He had just enough time to put up his sword and block the attack that sent him skidding across the floor. He took several deep breaths, and then looked over to where his father was. When he spotted his old teacher and friend, he smirked inwardly knowing that even if he didn't make it out of this fight, his father was safe now. Yet he knew he needed to keep Mumm-Ra distracted so they could make their escape.

"Come on you, bag of bones," Lion-O taunted, trying to keep the mummy focused on him. "If that's all you've got it's no wonder my ancestor beat you and took the Eye."

Lion-O knew it worked as the mummy let out an aggravated yell and then shot a large blast of energy at him. Lion-O used the sword to absorb the blast, which pushed him back a little. He glanced over just in time to see Panthro give him a nod right before taking his father and Jaga out of the ballroom. He looked back to Mumm-Ra, and his eyes turned dark. Up until that point Lion-O was restraining himself from using the training his teacher had taught him. However, now that it was only him and Mumm-Ra he could use all of that training against his opponent.

"I will show you the price for your insolent mouth pup," Mumm-Ra said darkly.

"Your plan was doomed to fail from the beginning Mumm-Ra," Lion-O said as he circled the mummy and changed his fighting stance to one he was more comfortable with. "I was the one who stopped every one of your shipments into Thundera, and I will stop you now, and for your information I am a Thundercat, not a dog."

Mumm-Ra growled deeply and his eyes glowed intensively at the information that the cat in front of him just told him. It was he who foiled his plans for a quick decisive strike over the cats. His hands lit with an even brighert ball of power; all of his rage and anger were going to be taken out on this young cat in front of him.

Lion-O saw the anger build in the mummy, but he kept his calm. He was focused, ready for anything that his enemy would throw at him.

* * *

"I need to go to him; he needs me I can feel it," Cheetara pleaded with the puma that was stopping her from going.

"If anything happened to you Panthro would have my head, and I am not going to start disappointing my husband now," Pumyra told the cheetah.

Cheetara let out a frustrated sigh; she could feel it deep in her soul that Lion-O was in trouble and he needed her. She looked past the puma towards the palace. It was like she could see what was going on in there yet everything was fuzzy enough that she could not get a clear picture. She was sworn to protect Lion-O, and if anything happened to him before she could tell him that she loved him then she would never forgive herself.

"They're coming," Kit said from her look-out on the second story.

Both women looked out toward where the kitten was pointing and at first didn't see anything. However, after a few moments, they could see Panthro and Kat helping the king and Jaga back to where they were hiding out. They both took off to help them. Even in his hung over state, Tygra went to help as well.

He felt like a complete ass after coming to. Cheetara told him what he had done during the ball. The tiger prince didn't blame her for the slap that he remembered her giving him for his actions. He had deserved it. Yet now was not the time to think about his rivalry with his brother over the beautiful cheetah cleric, not with the condition his father was in.

"Where's Lion-O?" Cheetara asked the four of them.

She watched as the king and Panthro shared a look before they glanced back to her. She quickly thought the worst had happened with the look that both of them had on their faces. Cheetara stared at both of them and the glare she gave them would make any weaker man shiver.

"I thought you were going to bring him bac," she started in a tone that was both scared and hard.

"I…" Panthro started but was cut off by the king.

"Cheetara." He straightened himself up and stepped close to the worried woman. "My son was doing what he could to give us time to get out," Claudus said softly to the young cheetah. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her. "He's strong, and he will make it out of there alive," the king tried to reassure her.

As much as Cheetara wanted to believe her king, there was a nagging feeling that it would not be the case. She had to get to her prince and help him. She stood there and looked up to the palace as blast of energy could be seen taking out sections of the wall were the ballroom was located.

"Come on, Sire, let's have your wounds looked at," Pumyra said helping the large lion to sit on the floor up against some rubble.

Cheetara looked to them and then back to where Lion-O was located. They may all be content with leaving him there and expecting him to return, however, the cheetah was not so willing to just let him do it by himself. She quietly walked out of the home they had hidden in. Her mind was made up; she was going to help her prince.

"Thinking of going after him?"

A voice came from behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face him. She was not sure what the tiger prince wanted this time, but he was not going to stop her.

"Don't try and stop me, Your Highness," she said almost in a threatening tone.

"I was not planning on it," he said raising his hand in defense. "I just wanted to say that I was sorry for earlier and wanted to tell you be carefu,." Tygra said looking at the others and then back to her.

Cheetara looked at everyone and noticed that they were no longer paying attention to anything other than the king and Jaga. Glancing back to Tygra, she saw him nod towards the palace. That was all she needed; pulling up her dress, she used her speed to get to the palace as quickly as she could.

"Good luck," Tygra said before turning to head back to his father.

"Where's Cheetara?" Panthro asked as Tygra came over to the group. The look that he got from the prince was enough to tell him where. "Are you crazy letting her go in there by herself?" The general asked.

"Panthro, she'll be fine; now help me move the king," Pumyra said getting her husband's attention.

* * *

The ballroom was a wreck with rubble scattered all across the floor from the two warriors battling it out, neither one of them giving an inch. It was clear to an outside observer that if something didn't happen soon the lion prince would fall due to sheer exhaustion. Things were not much better for the mummy across from him. Time for him was growing shorter by every passing minute. He was determined to end this battle here and now and not draw out what he had already waited centuries to attain. Mumm-Ra had foreseen this battle for many years now, and yet nothing in his vision told him about the way the young cat before him fought.

"I must say, young lion, that I am impressed. I have not had this much exercise in a long time," Mumm-Ra said with an evil tone. "It will be a shame to kill someone with such potential, but it does not have to be this way." Noticing the questioning look on the young cat's face, Mumm-Ra went on. "I will give you anything your heart desires, young prince."

"And what would I have to do in return, hand over the sword and serve you?" Lion-O asked as he started to circle Mumm-Ra.

"Is that such a high price to pay for getting what you want?" Mumm-Ra asked "I can make it so that your cheetah will be with you forever and look upon no other male."

"You can do that?" Lion-O asked.

"I can do anything, boy," Mumm-Ra said with another evil smirk across his face seeing that the young cat was thinking over the offer.

Lion-O was impressed to say the least. The thought of Cheetara being his not just his guardian did have its appeal. It would be a dream come true for him, but then it would mean the enslavement of his race again under this evil mummy's rule. No, he could not do that no matter what dreams he might have of being with her.

"What is your answer, Prince?" Mumm-Ra asked.

"To have her to myself is a dream, but that's all it would be because at the end of the day, we would be nothing more than slaves. I will not be the one to destroy everything my father and his father before him worked so hard to take from you," Lion-O said with determination.

"Then I will kill you and your precious cheetah for defying me," Mumm-Ra roared.

Lion-O saw his hands glow again and prepared for the blast. He knew that he would not be able to handle many more but he was determined that if he died that he would take this vile creature with him. The blast came and he deflected it with the sword. He smirked when he saw the anger in Mumm-Ra's eyes. He would soon have an opening to finish this once and for all. The next blast was deflected again, but not completely. Part of it hit the ground in front of Lion-O sending him flying back into the wall behind him hard.

He was dazed and pain racked his body. He knew he needed to move quickly before Mumm-Ra struck again and he was not able to defend himself. He raised the sword, ready for the next blast, when a streak of yellow came into his vision. He thought he was seeing things, but as his vision cleared a bit he could see her standing in front of him using her staff to fend off the blast that was meant to end him. He tried to speak to tell her to get out of there, but the words didn't come.

She was not supposed to be here she was meant to be safe with his brother. Yet here she was trying to defend him as he tried to get his senses about him again. It seemed like it was taking forever for everything to come back to him clearly. When it did, everything that had seemed to be moving in slow motion start back at full speed again.

"Prince Lion-O, please you have to get out," he could hear Cheetara pleading with him.

"Leave," was all he could say at first.

"I'm sworn to protect you."

"I said leave; this is my fight, and I don't need you fighting it for me," he snapped, but regretted his words as soon as he said them.

What happened next was so fast that, once again, it was like everything was moving in slow motion. He heard Cheetara say something to him and then move towards him. Just as she reached him, Lion-O noticed a Lizard fire a shot from its weapon striking Cheetara on her left side. They fell to the ground with Lion-O on top of her, and when he reached up to pull her off of him he felt something warm coming from her side. He looked at his hand and it was covered in a crimson liquid. His eyes went large knowing what it was that he was looking at.

"Cheetara?" he said, quickly rolling her on her back

"I have fulfilled my task in protecting you, My Prince," Cheetara said, her voice already weak.

"No, don't talk like that Cheetara," Lion-O said taking her hand as he felt an enourmous weight fill his chest. "You're going to be fine; I'll get you patched up," Lion-O said, trying his best to hold back the tears as he felt powerless to help her.

"I am happy that my last sight I have of this life is of you, My Prince," she said reaching up touching his cheek. "I will only regret not telling you…."

Her voice faded and her hand fell limply to the ground. Lion-O yelled her name trying to wake her. Hurt was replaced with anger as she didn't move no matter what he tried. He stayed there kneeling next to her for what seemed like hours until he heard the chuckling of the mummy behind him. His closed eyes opened and glowed a bright blue. Lion-O gripped the Sword of Omens tightly, and the eye of Thundera glowed bright red.

"If you had taken my offer, boy, your cheetah would be safe," Mumm-Ra said laughing.

"You killed her; you killed the woman I loved, and now you are going to pay," Lion-O said. "Hooo!" he yelled and charged Mumm-Ra.

Fear rose up in the lizards that had come into the room, and they saw a massive creature moving behind the lion prince. Mumm-Ra watched as Lion-O rushed him and the izard soldiers that had come started to fall one by one without the boy touching them. He could not understand this power that the boy wielded to take out so many of his troops without his blade touching them, that was until he looked upon Lion-O closely. The Eye of Thundera's bright red glow surrounded the prince, and behind him ran the spirit of the stone, in the form of a giant cat.

"No…, he has bonded with the spirit of the stone. It fights alongside him," Mumm-Ra said in an aggravated tone.

The strike that Lion-O hit Mumm-Ra with was stronger than he anticipated. It knocked him through the glass walls of the ballroom out into the courtyard. He picked himself up out of the crater that he created hitting the ground and looked up to the young cat and the spirit of the stone standing next to him. Both looked down at him, glaring.

"Lord Mumm-Ra," Silthe called to his master as he ran up to him. "We need to retreat. The cats seemed to be ready for us."

"What of the boxes?" Mumm-Ra asked. "Why have they not been set off by now?"

"There was none to be found, my lord; we looked in every location that Grune told us they would be and there were none," Silthe hissed out.

Mumm-Ra looked again to Lion-O standing there looking down on him like death itself. There was nothing he could do to separate the spirit of the stone from it new master. To make matters worse he could feel his powers weaken as he felt the sun start to rise.

"We will retreat for now, but this is not over," Mumm-Ra said just as the light of the new day hit him causing him to change back to the decrepit creature.

* * *

Lion-O saw him walk away and anger built up in him; he wanted to strike and finish this once and for all, to get revenge for the attack on Thundera and the death of his beloved cleric. There was so much that Mumm-Ra and his lizards would have to pay for. Yet just as he was about to go after them, a voice stopped him. Looking to his right he saw the creature looking at him and then to Cheetara's body.

"Let him go," the spirit said. "You have other matters that need tending to." Lion-O looked to the creature and then to Cheetara. "She needs you, but you need to act quickly to save her."

Against his better judgment, Lion-O tucked the now shrunken sword into his belt and walked back over to Cheetara. He looked down on her motionless body and felt his heart breaking. She had died at the hands of Mumm-Ra's army, and he could do nothing not to avenge it. Kneeling down, he took her hand in his and could not keep the tears from falling.

"I'm sorry, Cheetara; you sacrificed yourself to save my life, something that I'm not worthy of. There were so many things I wanted to tell you, to tell you how I felt about you," he said softly.

"Pick her up," the spirit told him.

He was not sure why he obeyed the command, but Lion-O reach down and picked her up. He held her close to his body, not caring that her blood was staining his clothes. He started walking out of the ballroom, not exactly sure where he was going, but he knew that the spirit had to be guiding him. He was not sure what this connection was between him and this giant creature that now walked beside him as they exited the palace. For now he didn't care; it had fought alongside him helping him kill the lizards that took his beloved cheetah from him and now was guiding him toward a place that he hoped could bring her back.

They walked through the city, and as they did some of the citizens stopped as they started to pick things up and put out fires. They lowered their heads as they watched their prince walk by holding Cheetara. Most of the adults could not see the spirit creature walking alongside of him, but some of the young cubs could. Lion-O paid no heed to any of them nor reacted to any of their comments but just kept walking.

* * *

"There you go, Your Highness; that should help with the pain," Pumyra said wiping her hands with a rag.

"Thank you," Claudus said with a nod and then got to his feet. He was worried about his son being all alone out in the city fighting the lizard army and that vile creature Mumm-Ra. He walked over to where General Panthro was standing. "Any sign of them?" he asked, the worry clear in his voice.

"No, Sire," Panthro answered not looking back at the king.

"General, I must ask."

"Where I have been this entire time?" Panthro said looking at the king who gave him a nod. "After escaping the prison camp that Grune left me in, I had been making my way back to Thundera. Your son Lion-O was the first person to find me, and since then I've been helping him protect Thundera."

Claudus looked at the general with a questioning look. It was clear that there was more to his son than the king knew. It was something that he would have to find out when he returned and things began to settle down. However, something gnawed at him about Panthro's statement.

"If you and my son knew that this was going to happe,n why did you not come to me and tell me?" Claudus asked with a bit of aggravation in his voice.

"Sire, we had no idea that this was going to happen, but your son decided to that it was better this way. He didn't want to scare the people behind it into hiding," Panthro said then looked out to the city. "I'm sure that if he knew that it would turn out like this he would have done things differently," The old general said and then looked back to the king. "From what we found out, Your Highness, things could have been a lot worse and a lot more lives taken."

While Claudus was upset by how his son handled the whole situation, he was also proud of him. He had never thought that Lion-O of all people would be the one to help stop the complete fall of Thundera. He had to admit the general was right. The way Lion-O had kept this information from him, the king, had inn the end he had saved many lives and the city as well.

"I see Lion-O," Kit called from the second floor.

"Does he look alright?" Claudus quickly called up.

"Yes, but he's carrying someone," the kitten called back then gasped. "Oh no!"

"Kit, what is it?" asked Pumyra.

When there was no answer, all the adults looked up to the kitten. She looked back down at them with tears streaming down her cheeks. Claudus didn't like this one bit, and before any of them could stop him he ran out of the building towards his son. He stopped right in front of Lion-O and looked down at him. It was not hard for him to tell who his son had in his arms, and by the pale look on her face and the blood stain on this son's shirt it clear to the king what had happened.

Lion-O stopped walking when his father approached him and looked up at him. The lively face that Claudus knew his son to have was gone. He looked to be a shell of his former shelf, and the large lion king knew exactly what his son was feeling. It was the same when he had lost his wife. A wave of guilt washed over him because of all the things that he had done to his son. He had wished that neither of his sons would have to face the loss of a loved one, but fate had not been so kind.

"The spirit told me to come this way to find help for her," Lion-O said softly.

"Lion-O, I'm so sorry," Claudus said.

By now the others had come up behind the king. Jaga, even in his weakened state, was there and a sorrowed look crossed his face as he saw the lifeless body of the young cheetah he thought of as a daughter in the lion prince's arms. He watched as for the first time in a very long time the mighty lion king reached out and touched his son's shoulder trying to console the young lion.

"Lion-O, let someone else carry her body; you look like you are about to collapse," Claudus suggested.

"No…" Lion-O said and held Cheetara closer to him.

"Lion-O, she's gone, son."

"I will not let her go again and will not stop till I find the one that the spirit of the sword told me can bring her back to me," Lion-O said looking up to his father, his blue eyes blazing with determination.

Lion-O started to move again and began to walk past his father and the others. He would not give up in finding a way to bring the life back to Cheetara. He was nearly past them all when Jaga spoke up.

"There is a way, but it is only legend," Jaga said, looking to the king then to Lion-O who stopped and looked back at him. "It is dangerous, and I am not even sure that it will work."

"I don't care about the risk; I will give my own life to have her back."

"Very well," Jaga said with a nod. "We must take her to the Cleric sanctuary."

Lion-O nodded and turned to head towards the sanctuary. As he walked past his father and Tygra, he could feel both of them looking at him. He didn't care anymore what his father though about his feelings for Cheetara; he knew that when she returned to him he would do everything to keep her near him forever. He would admit his feelings for her openly.

"_Have faith," _ Lion-O heard the spirit tell him. He had no reason to doubt the creature so far, and he was not about start now.

"General."

"Yes, Sire."

"I'm going with my son and Jaga. I want you to go about the city and gather what troops are left and make sure there are no more lizard within the walls," Claudus ordered.

"Yes, your Highness."

"Lady Pumyra, I leave the care of Thundera's citizens to you. Gather what doctors you can find and whatever supplies you might need, and set up a field hospital in Main Square."

With the orders given, Claudus turned and followed his son and Jaga. He hoped for his son's sake that whatever Jaga had thought of worked. He prayed to the Ancestors that his son's beloved cheetah could be returned to him, fearful of what the outcome might be if not.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Well this chapter gave me a bit of trouble getting it out always working on a bit here and there but it finally done. Even though to me it feels like there is something missing and just off. Yet I will leave it to my loyal reads of this story to be the judge.

Like to thank Brownynn for editing this chapter for me, you and Prairie24 have both been a big inspiration in writing this.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter VIII**

Hours had passed since the attack and Lion-O found himself passing outside the inner sanctum of the cleric's Sanctuary. He had been told by Jaga that only Clerics were allowed this deep into the Sanctuary. He couldn't stand not knowing what was going on in there. He wanted to be next to Cheetara, wanted to be of some help; yet he was stuck out here with nothing to do but let his mind wonder and worry.

"Son, you need to calm down." Claudus said as he watched his son pace back and forth.

"How can I? She took that shot for me, and I didn't even..." Lion-O said, stopping for a moment, taking a deep breath to stop the tears from flowing again. "I can't stop worrying father, I need her to be alright. I need her..."

"To be by your side, for the rest of your life? Am I right son?" Claudus asked.

Lion-O just looked at his father and was shocked. Had he been wrong about him all this time in thinking his father didn't really care about his life and what he wanted. The lion prince had to have been wrong, otherwise, his father would not have just asked him that question. Lion-O didn't know how to answer due to this revelation, so he simply nodded yes.

Claudus moved from his spot and walked up to his son. He placed his large paws on his shoulders and gave his son a slight smile. If not for Jaga's words yesterday the King wouldn't have noticed just how much he and his son were alike.

"Lion-O, I know what it is to lose the one you love." Claudus told the boy.

Lion-O looked up to his father and realized just what he meant by those words. A wave of guilt washed over him again. Cheetara was not the first woman willing to give her life for his. His mother did when he was very young and had become very sick. Jaga had told him when he was old enough, after his brother had blamed him for her death, that she had locked herself in his room and let no other come in. Lion-O remembered the story of how she had spent all her energy to make him well again and, in the end, she had become very sick and was too weak to fight it off. Lion-O's father was so hard on him since then that Lion-O was sure that his father blamed him as Tygra had.

"Father..." Lion-O started.

"Lion-O listen." Claudus said shaking his head, knowing what the young lion was going to say. "I was wrong to make you feel that I blamed you for your mother's death all these years. It was the worst thing that I could have done at a time like that as your father, and now seeing you going through this pain—it was something that I wished you or Tygra to be spared." Claudus told him with great compassion in his voice. "We must have faith in Jaga, and prey to our ancestors that your cheetah will be returned to you."

_"Your father speaks the truth my prince. What Lord_ _Jaga does may be of great risk, but it will work." _The spirit said.

"How can you be sure?" Lion-O asked it, not even thinking about his father being right in front of them.

"Lion-O?" Claudus asked puzzled, that his son was talking to someone other than him, but there was no one there.

_"Because, she is a part of you, and as such that_ _means that she is a part of me." _It told him. _"Her soul is safe."_

Lion-O had no real clue of what the creature was talking about. He was never one to get into the mysticism that some did. Yet if Cheetara's soul, wherever it was, was fighting to get back to him then maybe there was a chance that he would be able to tell her that he loved her.

"Son, are you okay? You were talking as if someone else was here." Claudus asked worried that his son might be cracking.

"I'm fine just worried about Cheetara." Lion-O said flatly.

* * *

Cheetara awoke to a warm feeling surrounding her. She was not sure what it was, but it was comforting compared to the cold darkness that flooded her not long ago. She knew that she had given her life to protect her prince and love. It was a sacrifice that she had been willing to make since she had become a cleric. Yet the cheetah hadn't realized when she had taken the oath that the act would be so worth it as well as so painful.

_"It is time to wake child." _A warm yet heavy voice said.

Cheetara slowly opened her eyes and noticed that she was in the sanctuary. Yet the place looked to be in one piece instead of the wreck she knew it to be after the attack. She quickly felt her side and noticed that she had no wounds, and even her cloths were changed. What was going on, was all that just a dream, or vision of what was to come? No it couldn't have been, it was to real—edevery bit of it.

_"It was no dream child, everything that happen was real." _The voice said again.

She looked around again and finally noticed that what she had thought she was laying on was actually not her bed. The warmth that she was feeling was not her comforter draped over her. Instead a rather large beast was lying down next to her. It was covered in burnt yellow fur, and as she looked it over it looked to be a lion. She had never seen or heard of a creature like this before in her life—not even in her study of the creatures of Third Earth. There was nothing in the textbooks about it. Yet as she looked at the creature, she had no fear of being so close to it.

_"You have nothing to fear from me child." _It told her, noticing that he was looking at her.

"Who…what are you?" She asked it.

_"I have had many names over the centuries, but I believe that your people call me the Eye of Thundera." _It told her.

Cheetara just sat there next to the best and stared at it in the realization of what it had just told her. She had heard legends from the old times that there was a spirit beast that resided in the eye, which aided Leo during the first war. Yet everyone thought it was just that a Legend and nothing more. Yet here it was lying next to her and talking to her.

"I thought…." She began, but found it hard to speak.

_"That I was nothing but a legend?" _He asked her and smiled when she simply nodded. _"That is understandable seeing that I have not shown myself to you or your people since the time Leo was my master. Yet, now a new master holds the sword and while his father was worthy to wield the sword and it powers, it is his son I deemed worthy of revealing myself to and giving him my aid in battle, and counsel."_

"You are talking about Lion-O." Cheetara said.

_"Clever girl, I can see why our Prince sees so much in you, and why he has chosen you." _The Beast told her.

"If you have only shown yourself to Leo and now Lion-O, why can I see you now?" She asked him.

The beast chuckled at her question and Cheetara gave him an odd look. What was so funny that he had started laughing at her? Her mind started thinking over what had happened and where she was right now. Then it came to her—she was dead. She pondered what that meant. She looked at him and noticed that he had raised a single eyebrow as if able to read her thoughts, just waiting for her to answer her own question.

"You've saved me… but why? I gave my life willingly for my Prince."

_"That you did, child," it said. It _got up and walked over to a window, opening it with a mighty paw. _"Yet there is something else that you have not yet given to your prince but that he will need more that your life." _He turned his head and looked back to her. _"It is because you are so much a part of my master that you are a part of me as well, and as such I saved your soul from the endless waste of the dead."_

She walked over to where the beast was standing and looked out the window as he did. What she saw amazed her. It was Thundera, yet it was not in ruin but pristine and better than it had ever been before. It looked peaceful, a place where she would like to spend the rest of eternity. Yet something told her that this was not what he was trying to show her.

_"A glimpse of the future my young cheetah. It is a future that you are going to help create." _He told her before looking down to her again. _"However, you need to return and be there for my master and Prince."_

Cheetara looked into the blue eyes of the beast and noticed that they reminded her of those of her Prince. She felt a tightness in her chest just by looking into those eyes. If there was a way to get back to Lion-O then she had to find it. Her ruby eyes stayed locked on those blue eyes and noticed that, just like Lion-O's, they looked upon her with such gentleness.

"How do I return to him?" She asked quietly.

_"You must follow your heart, dear child, and it will lead you where you need to go."_

* * *

Jaga sat chanting the ancient words that he knew would return his adopted daughter back to the world of the living. The spell was draining on him, but it was something he was willing to do. She was far too young to be taken from this world when she had only just begun to live. He was willing to give his very soul the ancient spirits if it meant she would return.

It seemed like only minutes had passed since she had been placed on the altar and he had started this spell, but in fact, hours had passed. It was not until the sun had reached mid-day did Jaga let out a heavy sigh, prepared to go tell the King and Prince that what he had hoped would bring her back had not worked. With a deep regretful sigh he stood next to her still body and placed a hand over hers.

"I am sorry that you could not have lived another life instead of the one fate has handed you." Jaga said solemnly. "Wherever you are Cheetara, look over our young Prince. I fear this will hurt him more than it has me" he said before turning to walk out to inform them of the news

As he started to move away he heard something that at first his old ears thought was only wishful thinking. Yet the sound of breathing other than his own in the quiet room became more frequent. Walking back to where she lay, Jaga watched as the sheet that covered her began to rise and fall. She was alive—,how he didn't know, but she was. He knew that the Prince would want to know, but before he could turn to the door and get them Lion-O came bursting in with his father close behind him.

"Your highness, Prince Lion-O" Jaga started but was cut off as Lion-O rushed past him and went straight to Cheetara.

"You did it Jaga, you brought her back." Lion-O exclaimed as he dropped to his knees and took her paw into his.

"Good work Jaga." Claudus said, walking up next to the elder cat.

"Sire, it wasn't me. I tried everything I could think of and nothing." Jaga told in quietly.

Claudus looked at the master Cleric and then to his son. If it was not Jaga that brought the young cheetah back, then who could have it been. He never did understand the mystical side of the Clerics or the world but he understood that there were powers in the universe that was beyond anything he could think of. It had seemed that one of the powers deemed the cheetah worthy to continue living.

He looked on to his son, and a small smile crossed his hard features. She was no lion, but it was clear that Lion-O cared for the woman deeply and after all that he and his wife went through, Claudus had already decided that he would support his son no matter what choice he made. The sound of coughing from the cheetah brought him out of his thoughts and to his son's side.

"We need to get her to a bed." Lion-O said looking up to him.

"I will see if any of the rooms are safe in the palace." Claudus said without thinking twice about it.

"Just hang in there Cheetara, it's my turn to look after you." the lion prince said softly.

He looked up at his father again when the king put his large paw on his shoulder. No words were spoken, just an understanding that Lion-O never thought they would share. They both nodded and the King moved off to find a warm safe place for Cheetara to rest.

* * *

Days passed and the city was starting to find its balance and daily rhythm again. Claudus had restored Panthro as General of the Army of Thundera and after a lengthy talk with his son Tygra, he had also made the tiger prince fall under the old panther's command. After the attack and what he had learn about what his youngest son had been doing to try and stop the attack, he figured that Tygra needed to learn a little humility. Just as he had done prior to the ball.

There was a unsettling peace over the city most nights, and even though there were more guard in the streets, most of the residents slept peacefully at night. All, that is, with the exception of the two royal lions. The King's lack of sleep was due to his youngest son. No matter what anyone tried to do, no one could get him to leave the still sleeping cheetah. Pumyra seemed to be the only one to get him to leave his spot next to her bed for some food and a break. The guise of her needing to examine Cheetara's condition was used many times for this purpose.

It was not much, but Claudus was grateful to the young puma for having accomplished it. He had watched the interaction between the two and noticed that as she was with the two kittens, the puma was very motherly to Lion-O, even though she was only a few years older than him.

"Sire."

Claudus turned around and noticed that said Puma was now standing in the doorway of his study. He had been looking out his window at the three moons and had not noticed her walking in. Turning to face her, he had smiled.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I thought I would let you know about your son, Prince Lion-O."

"Please come in." Claudus said walking closer to her.

"I finally got him to eat something and now he's sleeping." She told him, looking up at the huge cat.

"I can't thank you enough Lady Pumyra for everything you've done for my family." Claudus said in a very humbled tone. "I've watched you with both my boys and the way they react to you reminds me of when their mother was around. It is something that they have been missing for a very long time." He was not sure why he was telling her this but he felt comfortable talking to her and could understand why Panthro had married her.

"It is my pleasure your highness. Both your sons are well loved by the people." She told him.

Claudus just smiled at her and then sighed. There was so much on his mind but it helped ease his burdon a little knowing that both his boys were being looked after, even though they were old enough to look after themselves.

"Sire, if I may, you should get some rest yourself. It has been a few long and hard days and we need our King." She told him.

Claudus just nodded, she was right—the past few weeks had been hard, and he had spent many nights up late working on the plans to rebuild Thundera. He looked to the puma and knew that there was no arguing with her. He had to chuckle to himself as he left his study, parting with Pumyra. He smiled at the fact that his boys were not the only ones whom she mothered.

* * *

As night settled on the kingdom and the palace was quiet, one cat was still awake. He stood in a room looking over the love of his life. His heart ached as he looked at her, unable to see her ruby eyes looking back at him. He spoke to her and read to her every day in the hopes that she might hear him. Yet there was no change and now tonight, for the third time since the attack, he went back to the one thing that he knew he could do to help.

"I know that you were never happy with me doing this, but it the only thing I can think of to do to help father and the city, and if I don't do this, all I'll end up doing is sitting here trying to think of way to get to the mummy." Lion-O said to the sleeping cheetah. "I promise to be careful." He said bending down and kissing her forehead. "I love you Cheetara, please hurry back to me."

He turned and headed toward the window, taking one look back at her before he put on the black mask and jumped out of the window into the night and back onto patrol. This was where he could do the most good and get his thoughts straight, which were all over the place, ever since the attack. From his feelings for Cheetara, to how it seemed the spirit of the Eye of Thundera had bonded with him, to the fact that he blamed himself for not stopping Mumm-Ra sooner and saving many more lives, his thoughts plagued him.

Landing on one of the scaffolding that was being used to rebuild one of the larger buildings in the upper part of the city, Lion-O walked over the edge and looked out upon the city—a city that he sworn to himself to protect and had now failed to do so. As he looked upon the city he noticed that there were more guards patrolling the streets, which he knew was Panthro's doing. It was good that there was more to help the citizens feel more secure in their homes, but then _what was left for him to do_? Could he really be satisfied with just staying in the palace and not doing anything to help keep his people and the woman he loves safe.

_"You are troubled Master," _the spirit said, appearing seated beside him.

"I've got a lot on my mind." Lion-O answered without being startled like he had been in the beginning. He had become accustomed to the creature appearing next to him. In fact, lately he valued it's wisdom and counsel. "Everyone is doing something to help the city rebuild as well as to protect it."

_"And you feel that now you are not needed?" _It asked.

"Exactly." Lion-O said turning to look at it. "Don't get me wrong, being there at Cheetara's side and doing whatever I can to make sure she comes back to me is most important, but before the attack, when she was assigned as my cleric I was able to do something to help." Lion-O said with a heavy sigh.

_"Are you regretting that she was returned to you?" _It asked.

"By the ancients no! Without her here I would only be a shell of a man, but I still don't have her back completely. Sure she's alive but...I don't know."

_"Have you told her this, have you told her yet that you need her?" _the creature asked, looking first to the young lion then out onto the city. _"Maybe she is waiting for you to let her know that you need her, you have told her that you love her, this much I know," _he said looking back to LIon-O, who now gave him a questioning look as to how he knew. _"We are one young Prince, even if you can not see me I am always with you." _

"I already talk to her and read to her everyday and have done so for the past week and half, what else can I do?" he said before letting out an aggravated sigh. "I feel like she will never awaken and that I'll never got to tell her everything I want her to know, like I'll never get the chance to."

_"Then tell her my young Prince, tell her how you need her and how you feel. Neither of you can continue like this master," _the spirit told him

Lion-O just nodded and started to think on what it had told him. However his thoughts were distracted when the sound of screams could be heard and then the shouting of the guards. Lion-O moved to the edge again and started looking out into the city. It didn't take him long before he spotted a figure running across the rooftops in a hooded cloak. When he looked harder at the figure he noticed a couple of things—the first was a bundle in his arms, and the second was that the figure had a lizard's tail.

"Not in my city," Lion-O said, the fur on his back standing up on end. "Go and stay with Cheetara and Father. If anyone tries to harm them, kill them," Lion-O ordered before shooting his grapple gun and swinging off in pursuit of the lizard.

The spirit watched his new master head off toward the creature and nodded. He knew that by the time the sun rose this morning that many things would change for the young lion. Most would be good but others would be hard for him to take.

_"It is time to wake my child, your prince will need you by the morning's light." _The spirit said looking back at the palace before fading away.

* * *

The early morning sun was just creeping over the horizon and basking the giant head at the top of the palace in its early light. This city was still asleep aside from a few vendors that were getting their wears ready for the day. Yet they were not the only ones awake, that is if anyone paid enough attention to the palace walls. A lone black clad figure could be seen running along its eastern wall for a brief moment before disappearing.

It had taken Lion-O all night to track down the lizard that was loose in the city. Yet he did find it, and it was only by luck hearing the guard approaching that there was anything left of the creature. Granted he had killed the lizard that had shot Cheetara during the attack, but when he looked at those beady eyes, all he saw was the same one that had nearly taken her from him.

Now that the adrenaline had been purged from his system, however, and he was able to think again. Lion-O knew that this could not continue, that there were some drastic changes that needed to occur within the Kingdom.

"We have to rethink on how we do things with the other animals if we do not wish for another attack to happen again." Lion-O said to himself as he slipped back into the window of Cheetara's room.

"I could not agree more," someone said causing Lion-O to spin around to see Panthro sitting there with a now awaked Cheetara. "I had a feeling that you were out on patrol when I didn't find you right here."

Lion-O looked to Panthro for only a moment before he gaze fell upon Cheetara. She looked tired still and the glow in her eyes was not there as it once was. What got Lion-O's attention was the hard look that she was now giving him. Something told him that she was not happy about something.

"We'll talk later your highness, for now I'll leave you to alone," Panthro said before getting up and leaving.

"Cheetara, by the ancients it is good to see you awake," Lion-O said, his voice once again happy as he moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

What happened next nearly knocked him off the bed on his butt. As soon as he had gotten close enough, she had reached up and smacked him across the face. Lion-O looked at her, stunned, and then noticed the tears start to flow from her eyes.

"Cheetara?"

"Don't ever do that again." She said with a sob.

He just looked at her, still uncertain as to what he had done to make her this upset. In all their years of knowing one another he had never seen her cry like she was doing now. He dared to moved closer to her and once he did she throw herself at him and buried her face in his chest, crying even harder. Lion-O could feel her tears soak into his shirt. At first he was not sure what to do, but when she held onto him even tighter, he wrapped his arms around her and tried what he could to calm her.

"Shhh, Cheetara, it's fine. I'm right here and you're safe."

"I was so scared that when I woke it was a dream and that it was you that had been shot," Cheetara said into his chest "then Panthro came in and said that you must have been out in the city again."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," Lion-O said softly, finally understanding what had upset her, but it still puzzled him a little.

"I was fighting, Lion-O. I was fighting to get back to you. Even though the spirit saved my soul I could not come back. I could feel you here with me but I was trapped and couldn't let you know that I was alright," she told him slowly, trying to get her breathing under control.

Lion-O listened to her and it dawned on him that the spirit of the Eye of Thundera had not been lying to him. He had saved her and now the conversation that they had had on the rooftop started replaying in his mind. He started to stroke her long golden hair, content to have her in his arms and happy to have her with him.

"Cheetara, I need to tell you something, something that I've wanted to say for a very long time," he told her softly. His heart was beating a million miles a second and he had to swallow hard several times. His mouth felt dry all the sudden as he tried to put together what he wanted to tell her.

"Just tell me, Lion-O," she said softly, with a very sweet tone.

"During the battle and when you were shot, it felt like I was shot myself. I could face a thousand Lizards and could have gone on fighting with Mumm-Ra forever without ever having felt any fear, but when I saw you laying there bleeding..." he said, then had to stop to get his emotions under control, "everything that I was, disappeared when you died in my arms—,it was like watching myself from the outside. I was numb Cheetara, dead inside because I had thought that I would never get to see your smile or hear your laughter again." There was no holding back his feelings anymore, they all started to come flooding out. "I knew then that I loved you and always had. I knew that if you were gone that I would never be able to love another again, and I..."

He held her tight, as if he never wanted to let her go for fear that this was all a sick dream. If it was a dream he hoped that he would never wake from it—all that mattered was that she was there with him. Yet as he held her and she said nothing in return, he worried that he had said too much, that she was trying to find a way to let him down easily.

"What about your father and the Kingdom?" she asked quietly.

"I don't care about any of that Cheetara, all I know is that I love you, and I don't want anyone else but you."

"Lion-O," she said, pulling herself from his hold and looking up into his blue eyes, "I'm not worthy of a prince's love. I am a cleric and while I do deeply care about you, I...I can't accept your love other than in friendship," she said, tears once again streaming down her face.

It was everything she had wished for, to hear those words coming from his lips sent her heart into overdrive. Yet she knew that she could not be selfish and knew that even though she loved him as well that she could not be the one to bring down the royal line.

"Please Cheetara, let me be the one to decide if you are worthy or not," he told her, looking into her ruby eyes, "Father has already told me that he only wants me happy, and you—you make me happy. Just being near you makes me feel like I can do anything, but without you I'm hollow, and only half of myself."

"My Prince..."She started but Lion-O stopped her when he grabbed her hands and placed them over his heart.

"This is yours, and has been for as long as I can remember. If you will not accept it, then I don't need it anymore," he told her, being a bit dramatic.

She looked into his eyes and realized that as much as she wanted to reject him for the good of the Kingdom, she knew that she couldn't. She loved him too much to see him suffer anymore than he had, and with only a slight nod of her head, she leaned closer and placed her lips to his. It was quick and a bit of a haphazard first kiss, but when they stopped, she leaned her forehead against his and whispered the words that she had tried so hard to hold in.

"Lion-O, I love you, and my heart is yours," she said softly.

He said nothing but felt a sense of joy flood him, and without another word he kissed her. This time however, it was not as awkward as their first kiss. It was filled with the pent up passion and love that they had shared for each other. Both cats never felt more alive and they felt that now they each had finally found the missing piece in their lives.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **_ Okay boys and girls here the next chapter with a bit more fluff and the build of another adventure. I had only planed to do 8 to 10 chapter for this story but with everything running so smoothly I might keep going or split it into two parts. I'll let you all decided on how I go about it.

Once again would like to thank Bronwynn for editing this chapter for me.

Also want to remind people that this is a LiChee story and if you don't like them then well you don't have to read it. Flames will not be appreciate as they do nothing but hurt and be petty so please don't I won't read them. Thanks

Enjoy

* * *

_**Chapter IX**_

When Cheetara opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside. As she lay there looking out the window into the night sky she began to feel warmth that she had never felt before. She shuffled a bit and realized that someone had a hold of her. It took her a few moments before she realized who it was with her in bed. A soft smile crossed her features as she looked up to her sleeping prince. The cheetah remembered that she had grown tired again after they had confessed their love to one another and Lion-O had lain down next to her.

She never felt so loved and comforted as when he pulled her close to him and she lay her head on his chest. Hearing him say that he loved her again as they drifted off to sleep made her smile and she told him the same as she relaxed and slept tightly wrapped in his arms. She never wanted to leave his side, never wanted to know the feeling of not being held by the man she loved. This was a dream come true for her.

Cheetara felt him stir a little as he started to wake. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him with her ruby eyes filled with so much love. Her smile brightened when he opened his eyes and his beautiful blue orbs looked at her. A tired smile crept across his lips.

"Hi." He said in a tired voice.

"Hi, did you sleep okay?" She asked him.

"Better than I ever have in my life." Lion-O told her. "I could get use to waking like this."

"I can't think of any better way either." She said, moving up closer and placing her lips to his in a loving kiss. "It's already evening and as much as I would love to stay here in your arms, I'm hungry and I'm sure your father will want to see you."

"Yeah I think your right, but you still need to rest and rebuild your energy." He told her. "So I'll head down to the kitchen and see if cook can fix us something." He told her kissing her again before getting up. "Be right back."

"Okay." She said as she watched him leave the room.

She had never been so happy in her life. She felt as giddy as a schoolgirl just thinking about being in a relationship with her prince. Never in her life had she expected for this to happen, to be able to tell him how much she loved him. Regardless of her social standing he had accepted her as she was; but there was his father. She was worried about the King accepting the fact that his son was in love with her. A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts.

"Come in." She answered. Of all the possible visitors and well-wishers, she had never expected to see the King walk through the door.

"I am not disturbing you am I?" He asked before fully walking in. She shook her head no in response. "I came by earlier but you and my son were asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

"It is fine your highness, please come in. Lion-O has gone to get us something eat since we missed dinner." She told him. "You are welcome to wait for him."

"I would like to see Lion-O but that is not why I am here." He said as he walked next to her bed and sat down in a chair that looked too small for him. "I have come to see how you are doing and to ask you something."

"I am feeling better, Sire," she told him as worry started to well in her gut. Was Lion-O wrong about what he had told her of the King accepting their relationship? Was he here to tell her that her relationship with Lion-O could not be? "What is it that you wish to ask, my Sire?"

"It is about your relationship with my son," he began, noticing the scared look on her face. "I know how much you mean to him and that he loves you very much. As his father, not as King, I want to know that you return his feelings and would do nothing to hurt him."

Cheetara looked at the King and noticed that his word rang true. He was not there asking her this as her King, but as a father worried about the welfare of his son. This eased her mind greatly knowing that even though he had not always shown it in the past, the King cared very much for the happiness of his son.

"Yes your highness, I love your son very much and have since we were young cubs. I could no more do anything to hurt him than I could hurt myself," she told him giving the huge lion a soft happy smile.

"All I've ever wanted was for my boys to be happy and I was a foolish man trying to make Lion-O find a mate for the sake of the Kingdom. I was turning out to be just like my father had been with me, something I swore that I would never do to him," he said, looking at her for a moment before casting his eyes to the floor. "I want to apologize to you for making you feel that you were unworthy of my son's affection."

"Sire, you have done nothing that warrants an apology," she said as she slowly reached out and touched his paw with hers, unsure if he would permit her to touch him or not.

"I'm happy that he is more like me than I first thought," he said, putting his other hand over hers. "I'm very proud of him for following his heart as I did when I fell in love with his mother. She would have liked you very much, Cheetara, and I believe that, like my wife, you will be a very kind and gentle queen," he told her.

Cheetara swallowed hard at his word. She knew then and there that Claudus, the mighty King of Thundera, had accepted her not only into Lion-O's life but into his own as well. She looked into his eyes and noticed that they were misting up a little at the memory of his lost Queen. She was not sure what possessed her to do it, but she moved closer to the King and hugged him.

Lion-O had been at the door for a few moments and heard a good portion of the conversation between his father and Cheetara. He smiled as he heard his father tell her that she would be a good queen. He knew it was early in their relationship, but Lion-O agreed with his father. When he rounded the corner to see inside, his heart softened seeing the woman he loved hugging his father. He had loved mother deeply and had never taken another to their chamber after her passing, so talking about he with Cheetara brought back painful memories. He cleared his throat gently to let them know he was there. Cheetara looked over to the door and a warm smile crossed her face. She pulled herself from the hug that she was giving the King.

"I should leave so you two can talk," she said, making her way to get up.

"No," Claudus said quickly, "This is your room as long as you want it, Cheetara. I will leave and let you two have time alone, though I would like to see both of you at breakfast tomorrow morning."

"We will be there, Sire." Cheetara told him with a smile.

"Son, if I could have a quick moment with you alone." Claudus said to Lion-O as he headed towards the door.

"Sure dad." Lion-O said taking the tray of food over to the bedside table. He looked at Cheetara for a moment. "I'll be right back, go ahead and eat." He told her.

Stepping out into the hall he worried a little about what his father wanted. He knew that his father accepted Cheetara, but there was still a fear that he was going to be reprimanded about something he had done wrong. He closed the door to Cheetara's room and went over to where his father was standing at the railing overlooking the great hall.

"What is it that you need to talk to me about, father?" Lion-O asked as he stood next to him.

Claudus didn't say anything at first, just looked out over the great hall as the servants were doing the evening cleaning. He was deep in thought, thinking about how much this young cat next to him had grown into a man and how proud he was of him. He had wished that his beloved wife was still alive today to see how well their son had grown. He missed her so much. Seeing Lion-O in love and thinking about his own future with the cheetah made a lone tear roll down his cheek.

"Father are you alright?" Lion-O asked, concern evident in his voice. In his eighteen years of life he had never seen his father cry aside from when mother died, so it concerned him greatly. He placed a hand on his father's arm, "Father what is it?"

"Cherish her Lion-O, cherish her every moment of the day because you never know when fate will take her from you," Claudus said.

"Father…" Lion-O started, but stopped.

He knew what his father was referring to and despite their differences while he was growing up he never liked seeing the man upset. He could not blame him, his father only got like this when he thought of his mother; yet he had never seen him this bad before.

"Lion-O, I know that I was rough on you growing up and I am sorry for that. I only wanted the best for you." Claudus said.

"I know father, but…"

"Please let me finish," Claudus said, turning to face his son. "I was wrong to try and force you to find a mate for the good of the kingdom. Seeing you, how you were with her at the ball and even during the attack, I knew that you had already made your choice, much like I had done when I was your age." Lion-O gave his father an odd look. "Your mother was not approved by your grandfather but I married her anyway."

Lion-O never heard this story before. that ad assumed that his parents' marriage had been arranged as his father had tried to do for him. He never knew that his grandfather hadn't approved of his mother and father being together. Yet, Lion-O was not angry that his father had never shared this fact with him even though he had tried to force him to mate with a certain woman.

"I swore when you and Tygra were young that I would never do the things that my father had done to me, but ultimately I did. I am truly sorry, my son, and hope that we can start anew with our relationship. I love you son, you are my blood and you have so much of your mother in you that I could not stand to lose you for my short-sightedness." Claudus told his son, reaching into a pocket of his robes,pulling a small box out. "This was your mothers, and I think she would like you to have it. Give it to your cheetah when the time comes."

Lion-O looked at the small box, reaching out for it. Taking the box in hand and opening it, his eyes grew wide. He looked at his father and then back to the object in the box. Lion-O quickly closed it, shaking his head as he attempted to return it.

"I can't. This was mother's and you got it for her," he told Claudus, "I can't take something that means so much to you, father."

"Please, Lion-O, take it as a gift and a sign of my blessing for when the day does come, when you marry that young woman in there," Claudus said, pushing the box back toward Lion-O, making sure to close his hands around it. "I want you to be happy, son, and I know that Cheetara makes you happy so please do this for me."

"Okay." Lion-O said with a nod. Unsure of what to say, he instead did something that he hadn't done in a very long time, not since he was a young cub. He walked up to his father, the mighty King of Thundera, and hugged him tightly. "I love you, father, and thank you."

"I love you to, son. Now go back to Cheetara, she is waiting for you." Claudus said urging his boy—no, young man, to go to his future mate.

Claudus watched as he son went back into the room that he had given to Cheetara as a soft smile crossed his lips. He sighed, walking away to his office and to the fireplace were a picture of his wife hung above it. He looked up at the picture and smiled proudly.

"You would be happy my dear. Our youngest son is in love with a wonderful young lady. I gave him the engagement ring that I had given you knowing that you would have wanted him to have it as a sign that he and Cheetara have our blessing," Claudus said, pouring himself a glass of wine. "You would have liked her. She's a cleric and as such she is gentle and very kind. I think when the day comes and our son asks her to marry him, I will enjoy having a daughter as a part of the family. I miss you my love."

"We all do father."

* * *

Claudus spun around at the sound of his eldest son's voice. He smiled at the tiger prince as he walked in and looked up to the portrait of his mother. The past week with Panthro had humbled his eldest son quite a bit and he no longer walked around with the same smugness as he had done before. The attack on the city changed them both for the better.

"How are Lion-O and Cheetara?" Tygra asked, walking over and pouring himself a glass of wine. "I happen to see you walking from her room and figured that you had gone to see them."

"I did, and she is doing fine." Claudus told his eldest son, wondering what he was thinking at that moment. The King knew that deep down the tiger was unhappy about the relationship between his brother and the cheetah maiden.

"Then I take it that you blessed their relationship?" Tygra asked.

"I have," he answered, watching him. The expression on his face made it clear that his adopted son wanted to say something more but was not sure how to say it. "Speak your mind, Tygra," Claudus told him.

"I had always hoped that one day I could claim Cheetara as my mate. Seeing her look at my brother with so much love in her eyes—love I wish she had for me... it hurts more than I ever thought it would," Tygra said before he took a large sip of his wine, "I know she will be happy with Lion-O and as much as I want to find a way to tear them apart to have her for myself, in the end I know it would bring me nothing but regret and hatred from both of them, and you," the tiger prince said looking to his father.

"I could never hate you, Tygra. I would be disappointed and hurt if you did do something so petty, but never I could never hate you," Claudus reassured his son, "However, it seems that you do not need me telling you what you should or should not do about this. It's clear by what you have said that you have already thought this through and have made your choice."

"I have father. I will support Lion-O and Cheetara's relationship and when they do get married, which I know they will. When he is King I will support him just as much. We are brothers, after all, and we should not let a woman break that bond we that have, not when it's clear that she has made her choice."

Claudus walked up to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiled down proudly, knowing that he had decided to do what was best for everyone regarding the fact that he and his brother were attracted to the same woman. Claudus knew already that no matter what Tygra might have done to break them apart that it would never have worked, and he was grateful for his son realizing the truth.

"You will make a fine advisor one day Tygra," Claudus told his son.

* * *

The morning sun pierced the window of Cheetara's room striking the young prince in the face, causing him to groan. He had never been a morning person and the sun in his face made it even worse. Yet the warmth at his side made it better. It had only taken him a second to opened his eyes enough to realize the room that he was in was the one his father had given Cheetara. She snuggled closer to him when he shifted to get away from the light of the morning sun, causing a smile to spread across his face.

Try as he may, he was awake now, lying there watching the woman he loves sleep. She looked so radiant in the morning light. The sun's rays struck her golden hair giving the strands a radiant glow. There was no doubt that he wanted her to be his mate and queen. Yesterday, however, it had taken all the reasoning he had to convince her that it was okay for them to be together. It worried him a little thinking back on the conversation that he'd had with his father last night and on the ring that once belonged to his mother. Would she accept it or would her own self-doubt keep her from believing that he was telling her the truth about how much he loved her?

'Only time will tell.' He thought to himself as he watched her start to wake.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked him sleepily.

"For a little while now," he told her, leaning down and giving her a soft kiss. "Did you sleep okay?" he asked her as pulled her closer to him.

She didn't offer any resistance as he pulled her closer to his chest, spooning her back against his chest and placing his arm just under her breasts. She felt so secure and loved being held like this. The tender kisses he was placing on her exposed shoulder were sending shivers down her spine. She let out a content sigh before she finally answered.

"Better than I have slept in a long time," she told him, leaning her head back and capturing his lips with hers.

His touches and kisses were causing something to stir within her and she knew that things would go too far too quickly if they didn't stop. It something that she had thought about often and Cheetara could clearly tell that her prince had thought about it as well.

"We should get up and go to breakfast." She said in between kisses.

"I don't want to leave this room or this bed." Lion-O said with passionate in his voice, passion she had not heard before from him before.

"Lion-O, love, we promised your father we would be at breakfast this morning," she told him although she completely understood how he felt. She would have loved to have stayed there in bed with him, to have explored one another. "Besides, I want to take things slowly, as much as this feels wonderful I…" she started but was stopped when Lion-O placed a finger on her lips.

"I understand Cheetara, and you're right. I don't want to force you into something you're not ready for," he told her with complete understanding in his voice, even though his body was saying something else entirely. He kissed her once more before throwing the cover off of himself and getting up out of bed. "I should head to my room and get cleaned up. I'll be back to escort you down to breakfast."

"Okay." She said with a smile and started to get up herself. She watched her love and prince walk toward the door as something struck her. "Lion-O, I don't have anything to wear!" she said.

"There is a whole selection of clothes for you in the closet," he said, giving her a playful wink before heading out the door.

* * *

Once Lion-O had gone Cheetara made her way to her room's en suite bathroom. The bathroom was as extravagant as the bedroom had been she felt a bit like a princess staying in the room that the King had given her. She made her way to the bath , sliding out of her nightgown as the tub filled. She soon stepped into the bath and let the warm water soak into her fur. She had been laid up in bed for so long that this was the first time that she had been able to take a proper bath.

As much as she wanted to stay soaking in the warmth of the bath, but she knew that she needed to get dressed and ready to head downstairs with Lion-O for breakfast. She walked over to the closet, opening it to reveal that it was filled with all manner of dresses, each one more elegant than the dress she wore to the ball. She had no idea which one to pick, but she soon found a simple beige-colored dress. She slipped it on and was amazed at how well it fit her. She was looking at herself in the mirror when there was a knock at her door.

"Cheetara, its Lion-O. Panthro needs me for something before breakfast. Do you mind heading down on your own? I'll meet you there," he said from the bedroom door.

"That's fine, I'll see you there," she answered him.

"Okay, love you," he said before closing her door again.

She sighed as she realized that a relationship with her prince was not going to be easy. There would be moments when he would not always have time for her. She considered whether she was able to deal with that. With a final glance at herself in the mirror, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was—because they loved each other. She smiled and then went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

* * *

"Are you sure General?" Claudus asked once again.

"I'm sure, Sire. The scouts reported that they saw several divisions of Mumm-Ra army moving away from his black pyramid," Panthro said.

"This could be a good time to strike father," Tygra said as he sat at the breakfast table.

"It could or it could be a trap to lure us in," Lion-O stated.

Both Claudus and Tygra looked at the young lion and were a bit stunned by his statement. Yet as Claudus looked to Panthro, the old general nodded his head, agreeing with his youngest son's assessment, proving that there was yet another thing about his boy that he hadn't know.

"Since when have you gotten into tactics?" Tygra asked after a few moments.

"After the attack I thought it was best to learn as much as I could," Lion-O simply said, even though there was clearly more to that story then he was letting on.

"Well, regardless, we can't let this opportunity slip past us. That sick demon attacked our city. I think it's time we returned the favor," Tygra said.

"I agree with you kid, but Mumm-Ra planned that attack for months and if we don't play this smart, it could lead to a lot more deaths," Panthro responded, "however the choice is not ours to make. So what do you think sire?" Panthro asked, looking to the King for the first time.

When no answer was given, the three men looked at the King, noticed that he had a stunned, far-off look on his face. Something had caught his attention and as the other three turned their heads to the direction in which the King was looking, dead silence filled the room for a few moments, until the fork that Lion-O was holding fell from his hand and hit the table.

"Wow," Panthro said.

"You can say that again," Lion-O and Tygra said.

Standing in front of them was Cheetara, wearing the beige dress from her closet. The way the men were staring at her began to make her feel a bit uncomfortable, causing her to wonder if something might be wrong. It was not until Pumyra reached across the table and closed Lion-O mouth that he moved to get up.

"You look amazing," he said, walking up to her and taking her hand.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" she asked.

"Well… because…"Tygra started but was cut off when his father placed a hand over his.

"That dress fits you very well Lady Cheetara," Claudus said with a warm smile, "It brings out your beauty just as it did when Leona wore it."

Cheetara looked to the King for a moment and then to Lion-O. At first she didn't understand what the King was talking about but then it dawned on her. She looked at Lion-O again and he nodded at her thoughts.

"That was my mother's before she passed away."

"I'm sorry. I will go change… I didn't mean to offend," she stammered, starting to leave.

"No Cheetara…" Lion-O began but was interrupted by his father.

"Lady Cheetara, wait," he said, getting up from his seat at the head of the long table. He walked over to her and placed a large paw on her shoulder. "I know that Leona would like you to have her dresses, so please do not think that I am offended by you wearing them, all right?" he assured her.

Cheetara looked at the King for a moment, saying nothing. It was not until he saw that soft smile on her King's lips that she understood the shock at first. Yet with the fatherly look that he was now giving her, she felt more at ease being in Queen's dress.

"Now please sit and eat," Claudus said, moving away from her and back to his seat. "As for what we were discussing before, let me think on it and I will give you an answer by the end of the day. For now, let us speak of happier things," Claudus said, sitting down.

* * *

Days later Cheetara found herself sitting in the King's large study watching the three royal men talk about this and that. She was happy to see that Lion-O and his father were now talking and getting along better than they had a few weeks ago. She was not sure what it had been that caused them to come closer together, but it made her happy to see the cat that she loved bonding with his father. Things were not much different between Lion-O and Tygra, but they were brothers after all and it was to be expected that they would never see eye to eye on some matters. She was just grateful that she was no longer at the center of the rift between them.

When the men started discussing military strategy for the upcoming attack on Mumm-Ra's fortress, Cheetara got up and headed to the balcony. The afternoon sun felt good on her fur and she closed her eyes and soaked up its warmth. It wasn't that she didn't care about their plans for the attack, but it was really the fact that she was nervous, perhaps even a little scared.

If Lion-O went with his father and his brother to help with the attack, she was afraid that he might not return. Oh, she knew that her lion prince could take care of himself and that he had faced Mumm-Ra already and had come out alive, but she didn't think it was right to tempt fate again. Maybe she was just being overcautious when it came to him. As she looked out onto the garden she thought she spotted Jaga with Kit and Kat.

She smiled as she watched Kat sit under a tree, completely bored at what his sister was doing. It was clear that Kat could not understand sitting for hours on end meditating. However, Cheetara saw Kit give her brother a look to shut him up. She was proud of the kitten taking it upon herself to train to be a cleric. She could still remember the conversation that she had with Kit last week.

"I'm going to learn how to be a cleric, so when you and Lion-O have a baby, I can be the protector of the little prince or princess," Kit said with wide eyes and huge smile on her face.

"Kit, it's a bit too early for something like that," Cheetara told her,. "the prince and I are just starting out relationship."

"I know, but I already know that you'll become his queen one day and have lots of princes and princesses," Kit said, taking off when she heard her brother calling for her.

Her memory of that day was interrupted by the sounds of the two kittens chasing each other. She smiled down at them and started to think what it would be like to have a cub with Lion-O. Would their cub be accepted just as well as she was by his father and the others? Though it was a sweet dream it was one that she was unsure if it would ever come to pass. Her thoughts were derailed when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and the familiar sent of her prince overwhelm her senses.

"What're you thinking about out here, is everything alright?" Lion-O asked her softly.

"I'm fine, just needed some air," she said leaning back into his chest, "is the meeting over?" she asked him, hoping to keep him from worrying too much.

"Yeah. Final plans have been made, now it's only a matter of time to gather the logistics of it all," he said, holding her tightly against him.

"How long do you think it will be before we are ready to leave?" she asked him.

"I would say by the end of the week," he told her, her words not really sinking in at first. When it did hit him he let go of her and quickly got around to look her in the eyes. "What do you mean we?"

"I've decided to come with you," she told him as if it was nothing more than a simple matter.

"No," Lion-O said, shaking his head. "No, I can't take the chance of losing you again, I want you here where it's safe," he told her.

"And what, wait and worry like the rest of the women do when their men are out fighting?" she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's safer here."

"Your highness," her tone clearly telling Lion-O that she was upset, "just because I am wearing these nice clothes and not my clerical robes does not mean I have stopped doing my job," she told him flatly, "my duty as a cleric comes first—before anything else—anything else that you want me to be," Cheetara's anger was now showing in her eyes. "I'm not some doll to be put on a shelf," she then turned and walked away from him.

"Cheetara wait…" he called after her but she kept walking.

"Lovers' quarrel already?" Tygra said, walking out onto the balcony.

"I don't know what I did to make her upset like that," Lion-O said, running a hand through his hair and letting out a frustrated sigh, "all I told her was that I didn't want her to be there when we attacked Mumm-Ra."

"Little brother, you still have a lot to learn," he told him, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "If I'm right you told her that it was safer for her to be here than with their rest of us out in the field, am I right?"

"Well yeah, I mean I already lost her once to Mumm-Ra lizards, I don't know if I can go through that again," Lion-O said.

"Well, look at it from her point of view little brother. She's a cleric, and always will be. No matter how many fancy dresses she wears and how many balls she might attend, that's who she is first and foremost. As such, her job is to protect the royal family, which is you Lion-O," Tygra told him hoping that his brother was smart enough to get his meaning.

"That means she feels duty-bound to be by my side, even in battle," Lion-O finished.

"You're smarter than you show sometimes little brother, now go after her." Tygra said pushing his brother toward the direction that Cheetara had gone.

After Lion-O left Tygra shook his head and chuckled. He would have never thought that he would be giving his brother advice on a relationship with a woman that he had hoped one day would have been his.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Well another chapter under my belt and it would not have been possible for everyone's great reviews. Though I did have a bit of a writers block again trying to get this one out. However, here it is and I hope everyone enjoys it still.

Like to thank Browynn for editing this one for me. Between her and Prairie24, I've been able to keep on track and inspired with this story. Thanks Ladies.

**Chapter X**

Three days had passed since Lion-O had with Cheetara argued, and while he considered it only a little spat, his Cleric thought differently. Every time he had tried to talk to her she had simply ignored him, not acknowledging his words. What upset Lion-O even more was the fact that she had changed out of the dresses that had been given to her and had returned to wearing her traditional clerical garment. His father had questioned him about it but Lion-O had given him some excuse. The King then gave him the same advice that his brother Tygra had—to apologize to her. Lion-O was trying to figure out exactly how to accomplish that task when she wouldn't even speak to him.

It was mid-morning and Lion-O was out in the main courtyards looking over the provisions that were being brought in for the gathering attack force. He ran a frustrated hand through his untamed red hair and let out a deep breath. He had to find some way to speak to her to work things out between them. He had hoped to be able to do this before they left on the big campaign, but it was looking more and more hopeless as the days passed.

Not talking to Cheetara was starting to wear on him, and despite his efforts not to show it on the outside, he was failing even in that. He stood there overlooking the courtyard and then let out another deep sigh, looking skyward watching a flock of birds as they headed south.

"It is one of the most wonderful and most horrid emotions that we have with us." A voice said, breaking Lion-O out of his own thoughts.

"What is?" he asked, looking to his side seeing the old General walking up next to him.

"Love, my boy, it is wonderful and makes you feel like you can do anything when you are high with it. Yet when it is taken from you and you are left wondering if the person that you love so much loves you the same it hurts and makes you wish you could just crawl in a hole and forget about the world." Panthro told the young Prince without even looking at him.

"I hate feeling like this Panthro, I hate not being able to talk to her, to tell her I'm sorry" Lion-O told his friend. "Have you ever had this issue with Pumyra?" Lion-O asked.

"What? Me saying something stupid and her not talking to me for a while?" the elder panther asked, chuckling when Lion-O nodded yes. "Of course, many times, but that happens with couples now and again," he told the young man, letting out a content sigh. "Though it doesn't have the same effect on me as it did before."

"How so?"

"Because I know in the end she loves me as much as I love her. Though there was a time not long after we first met when I didn't realize that I loved her," Panthro said, getting a distant look in his eyes. "She was a lot more hot-headed back then. She's still a hot-head, mind you, but calmed down a lot since we wed. I'd made a similar mistake during one mission that we were on for you and said something about her staying back, wanting to protect her. Of course my stupid mouth said a lot more idiotic things after that but the point is this: after our little fight she wouldn't speak to me anymore than was absolutely necessary to for nearly three weeks. It drove me crazy and I found that it hurt more and more every day that she ignored me. I knew then that I loved her."

"What did you do?" Lion-O asked, hoping to gain some insight on how to fix things between Cheetara and himself.

"It took some work but I finally got her to sit down and I talked to her, told her that I was sorry," he told Lion-O, "Which is something that you need to do. You are going to be King one day your highness and you can't be timid. I'm not saying rush over to her and make demands, but I'm saying that you need to do the right thing and leaving it alone like it is now won't fix anything." Panthro turned to leave. "Oh, and two more things, don't ever repeat what I just told you and you aren't the only one looking depressed around the palace lately." He just shook his head when Lion-O gave him an odd look. "Women are good hiding their true feelings—especially to those they love the most." Panthro walked away without giving Lion-O a chance to say anything else.

oOo

Another two days passed and still Lion-O had no luck talking with Cheetara, at least talking to her about the subject he wanted. She was speaking to him again, starting to be around him more yet there was a distance between them. Now to make matters worse, there had been no time for them to spend alone together. He had been busy helping his father plan out the last-minute plans of the battle at Mumm-Ra fortress.

Now it was the predawn hours of the morning in which they would begin their march toward the Black Pyramid. Lion-O had been unable to sleep at all that night and the cause for that was clear. He stood on the balcony of his room looking across the small distance between his and Cheetara's room. It was not the upcoming battle that had him awake. No, battles did not bother him he had been in plenty already. It was the battle for the woman that held his heart that kept him awake for yet another night.

He began to remember the conversation that he'd had with Panthro the other day. He had to admit that the General was right—he would be King one day and he needed to learn how to handle situations like this. He began to think that if he could not work out the issues with the woman he loved then how he would be unable to work out bigger issues within the Kingdom. A thought came to mind and as he walked over to the closet were he stored the gear for his alter ego. He pulled out the grapple gun before walking back over to the balcony.

He looked at her open window before glancing down toward the gun. What he was planning could go very wrong or it could work to his favor, but he wouldn't know unless he tried. He aimed it at a spot over her window and pulled the trigger. The line silently zipped across the small expanse and attached itself into the exterior wall. Taking one last deep breath and saying a small prayer to the ancients that this would work, Lion-O jumped, swinging himself onto the ledge of her window just as he would have done out in the city.

Crouching on the window seal, he peered into the window and saw no movement, that her bed was empty. It looked as if it had not been slept in, causing the prince to wonder if everything was all right with her. He stepped inside and looked about the dark room but saw nothing. Then he heard a noise coming from the small bathroom attached to her room. Before he could move to get out of site, the object of his love walked out into her room wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her.

Lion-O stood there for what seemed like an eternity just looking at the young cheetah. Her hair was wet, droplets of water still running down her arms telling him that she had just gotten out of the bath. It was hard for him not to stare at her, she looked so beautiful standing there. When she finally locked eyes with him she returned his gaze, anger evident in her eyes as placed a hand on her hip.

"Not very becoming of you your highness, coming into a lady's bedroom unannounced." Cheetara said still standing there. As much as she wanted to yell at him for his intrusion a part of her had to admit that his actions, while unconventional, were very charming. "Could you not have waited until later?" She told him, trying her best to have a stern tone.

"I'm sorry Cheetara, but you haven't let me speak to you once in nearly a week. I had to do something." Lion-O said trying his best to keep his focus on her face and not letting his eyes roam her nearly naked body.

"And you thought swinging into my window was the best way to get my attention?" She walked over to her bed and grabbed the robe that was lying across her bed. "I do have a door that you could have knocked on." She turned her back to him and slipped on the robe, letting the towel fall to the floor once she was covered.

"I know but I didn't think you would answer it or even want to talk to me." Lion-O explained. He was starting to regret his actions, raising his hand he ran his fingers through his hair.

"So you thought it was better to come swinging in through my window?" When she turned around to look at him she felt her heart skip a beat as she saw him run his hand through his hair, she had always found the act to be something she considered very attractive and sweet about him.

She missed the times they had to spend alone together. There was so little of that lately with all of the planning for the attack. She was no longer upset with him about his comment almost a week ago. After talking with Jaga and Pumyra she knew that her prince only wanted her safe. She was told how devastated he had been when she had already died once in his arms. The cheetah didn't want him to have to go through that again, but she was first and foremost a cleric and it was as much her duty to keep him safe as it was his to keep her safe.

Lion-O stood there trying to think of what to say, how to begin. All he knew was that it was killing him being this close to her, not knowing if he could hold her, kiss her, make her his. He was a bit shocked by that last thought that had ran through his mind, but it wasn't as if he hadn't thought about it before. He already knew that there was no other in all of third earth that he would want, no one who could even come close to taking her place in his heart. So he knew that he needed to apologize quickly before she kicked him out.

"I need to talk to you Cheetara. I need to tell you that I am sorry for what I said that upset you. It's just that I nearly lost you once already and the thought of losing you again…it would kill me. You know that I love you, and knowing that there's a chance that I could lose you…" He said the lowered his head shaking it and trying to gather his thoughts.

"Your Highness…"She started but was cut off when he looked up at her and started talking again.

"Please let me finish. I'm not good with words like my brother, but please listen. I know that you are a Cleric, and it was stupid of me to think that because you came back and had started to wear some of my mother's dresses that you'd left that part of your life behind. I was wrong to think it was no longer your responsibility to protect us and the kingdom." He said stepping closer to her. "I have to remember that being a cleric is still a big part of your life and that it always will be. I'm sorry for treating you as if it weren't important. I love you Cheetara, I love everything about you that makes you who you are and I would not change a single thing about you. I hope that you can forgive me for being an idiot." He told her, sighing before he turned and headed toward her door.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

"I thought I would go out the door this time. I told you what I came to say." Lion-O sounded defeated as he started moving past her and toward the door. He stopped when he felt her grab his hand.

"So now you're just going to leave without even letting me say anything?" she asked him, shaking her head, "You still have a lot to learn about how a woman works my prince." Cheetara tried not to chuckle as she watched his ears drop. She stepped closer to him and placed a hand to his cheek. "And I have a lot to learn when it comes to letting someone who I love protect me." She reached up and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Does this mean that you forgive me?" Lion-O asked, still unsure of what to make of it all.

"Yes my dear sweet prince, I forgave you a while ago." She told him.

A big goofy smile crossed his lips and Cheetara could not help but chuckle at his reaction. She slipped back into his embrace so easily as he wrapped his arms around her, leaning down for a kiss. She leaned her head back to give him better access to her lips. She had missed this, missed his touch and the feel of his lips on hers.

Her scent filled his senses and when she opened her mouth the let his probing tongue enter she ignited a fire in him that hadn't been there previously. They broke their kiss only due to their need for air and looked into each other's eyes. Unspoken words were exchanged between them and before long Lion-O laid her on the bed and began feathering kisses down the graceful curve of her neck. She sound of her softly moaning his name fueled the young prince's fire even more. Soon he was untying her robe as she began to rip off his shirt. Once they were free of their clothes, skin to skin, they made love, moving to a rhythm as old as time.

oOo

The sun crept through the window of her bedroom shining down on the new lovers. Cheetara never expected that something so primal could make her feel as loved as making love to Lion-O had. She lay there with her head on his chest, running her fingers through the soft fur that covered the hard planes of his chest. She enjoyed the warmth that her prince's naked body provided. She could stay like this for the rest of the day, deep down she knew that was not a possibility. A gentle sigh escaped her lips as she felt Lion-O run his hand through her hair and down her back.

"I know it's still early in our relationship," He began and she turned her head to look up into his blue eyes. "But I already know that there is no other person I would ever want as my future queen," he told her softly.

"Lion-O I…" She began but stopped when he place a finger on her lips.

"Cheetara, I love you with every fiber of my being. This past week… not being near you. not being able to touch you proved to me beyond a doubt that you are the only one I want to be my queen and the mother of my heirs."

When the tears started to flow from her eye, Lion-O feared that he had once again said something to hurt her feelings, but she leaned up and kissed him deeply before pulling back and looking at her prince. She cupped his cheek and kissed him once again before speaking.

"I love you too my prince, and I would like nothing better than to become your queen and mate." She said then paused.

"But?" he asked.

"I think we should wait until the campaign is over before we start talking about the future," she said.

Lion-O should have understood her reasoning behind her answer, but in his mind all he was hearing was she was trying to turn him down. Was the only reason she'd said she loved him to get what had just happened an hour before. Now that they had made love, was she done with him? No he couldn't believe that, he wouldn't believe that. That was only his fear of losing her again talking, nothing more. She must have seen the worried look on his face and the questions running in his eyes because she spoke up.

"I'm not saying no my love, I'm just saying that we should wait until after this battle is done and Mumm-Ra is gone for good before talking about our future together," she told him propping herself up on and elbow. "I love you Lion-O, and whether I become your Queen or not, that will never change. Aside from dying again, nothing is going to take me away from you."

Lion-O didn't like the idea that she would not give him a firm answer yet, but he had already learned not to take what little time they had for granted. Sure one or both of them could not come back from this battle, and he would love to already have her as his wife before they left. However, he would respect her wishes and would wait until this war was over. It would be enough for now to know that she was his mate already.

"We should get up and get ready. I'm sure the king will want to get going soon," Cheetara said reluctantly.

"I don't want to leave this bed yet," he said with equal reluctance in his voice. He let out a heavy sigh then started to get out of bed. "It's going to take a few days for us to travel to the fortress. Will you visit me in my tent at night?" he asked her.

She moved over behind him and put her arms around his neck. Her bare chest pressed against his back and she trailed kisses across his bare shoulder. Lion-O let out a deep satisfying sigh and smiled.

"I will do my best to be there," she told him.

Lion-O turned his head around enough to capture her lips with his own. They shared a deep passionate kiss for a few moments before getting up and dressing. There received a few odd looks from the palace servants as they both exited her room and headed down to meet the King, but no one said a word to either of them.

oOo

True to her word Cheetara went to Lion-O's tent every night during their trek to the fortress. The King and their friends knew of their nightly rendezvous but no one ever said a word to them about it. They were not doing anything aside from expressing their love for one another.

Claudus was happy that everything had worked out once again for his youngest son and the cheetah. The king realized that after their upcoming battle with Mumm-Ra, many of the soldiers in his army would not be returning home. There was also a nagging feeling in his gut that he himself would not be coming back from this last battle, that he would not live to see his son wed to the young woman. It was something that as a father he wanted most of all because if he didn't return from this fight, then his son would have lost both his parents.

The King watched the two on their four day journey to Mumm-Ra's Pyramid. They reminded him so much of himself and his wife when they were young. On the fourth night he walked the camp, greeted his men, something that he did before every battle. As he walked around a group of tents he spotted the young cheetah standing on a small knoll overlooking the vast desert and the dark cloud that hung over the dark pyramid.

"You can not sleep either?" he asked her as he walked up and stood next to Cheetara.

"Your Majesty!" she said with a start, and then bowed.

"Please rise Cheetara," Claudus gave a slight wave of his hand. "I find that I can't sleep either before a big battle. I ponder if I have made the right plans and worry about the men under my command," he said, looking back to the camp. "And now both my sons are will be with me tomorrow on the battlefield."

"They are both strong young men your Majesty and their father taught them how to fight very well," she told him.

"That's not what worries me about tomorrow. I worry that when it's over they will be without a father as well as a mother," he confessed to her, looking back to her. "Cheetara, if something should happen to me tomorrow, promise me that you will look out for Lion-O and be there for him."

"Sire…"

"I had always thought that when Lion-O chose a mate that he would pick a lioness, but I'm happy that he made the choice that he did," he said, looking at her with a soft smile. "I know that you are not wed yet, but I already consider you a daughter and when the time comes, I know you will make Lion-O and Thundera a wonderful Queen." The king then looked out toward the pyramid.

Cheetara didn't know what to say. To be praised so highly by her King was a shock to her, but one she took with great humility. However, his words still concerned her. He spoke as though he would not be returning from the battle. The two soon parted ways and Cheetara, with no real concern for who saw her made her way to Lion-O's tent. Once inside she quickly moved to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his chest.

"Cheetara, what wrong?" he asked her, easily wrapping her in a hug.

"I'm worried about the battle tomorrow," she said quietly as her lion held her close.

She had been anxious enough as it was about the upcoming battle, but after the King had talked to her, her nerves were more intense. She was not sure why; she had never been like this before, not even when she had made the decision to help Lion-O fight Mumm-Ra the first time. So what exactly was it that had her so worried. Cheetara didn't know for sure, all she wanted to do now was stay there in Lion-O arms and be comforted.

"I would be lying if I told you that I was not concerned about it either, but we're going to be alright my love." Lion-O said, holding her close, running a hand through her hair trying to calm her.

"How can you be sure Lion-O, what if..." she started but quickly stopped.

She thought about telling him about what his father had just told her. However, something told her not to do it. She knew he was worried enough about the fact that she was with him. Her prince had never said anything like that before, but the closer they had gotten to the fortress, the concerned in his eyes grew with each step they took. She knew what he was thinking.

"No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow during the battle," Lion-O sounded a lot older and wiser than his age. "I've learned already not to be to concerned about what we can not control and to live life to the fullest in the time that we are given," he told her. "I have no illusions that we will not lose a lot of good people tomorrow, some of which are very close to, but there is not much we can do about it. We have to stop Mumm-Ra before he can attack again," he told her still stroking her hair.

She moved away from him just enough to look up into his blue eyes and nodded. She was not sure why this was bothering her so much. However, she knew that Lion-O words were true. There was not much they could do, and no one knew how long they would have in this life. His words made her bury herself deep into her loves embrace. If tomorrow was going to be the end for some then she wanted one more night with her prince.

oOo

Tygra had been walking through the camp on his way back to his tent when he had spotted his father and Cheetara speaking on the hill. He stopped and watched them, moving close enough to be able to hear them speaking. What he heard did not sit well with the tiger. He had never known his father to fear a fight, but now he was speaking in a grim tone. It did not sit well with him to hear the king speak that way.

Tygra felt that he should share this premonition with his brother, but as he watched Cheetara part from the king, the tiger prince stood there and looked at his father. No matter what, he and his brother needed to find a way to keep his father's dark words from coming true. With that thought in mind he started to make his way toward Lion-O's tent. As he got closer to where his brothers tent was he spotted the very familiar blonde hair of the cheetah, who he still had strong feelings for, enter his brothers tent. He knew that the relationship between the two could not be broken, but that did not mean Tygra was completely okay with it. He wanted Cheetara to be happy, and his brother was able to give her that. Yet a part of him was jealous of what the two of them had together.

He walked away from the tent and started to head toward his own. As he did he spotted Panthro and Pumyra sharing a quiet intimate moment together. She was almost ten years younger than the General, but it was clear that they made each other very happy. He sighed as he watched them for only a moment. What had he done wrong with his life to be so alone now?

True, he had friends and his family, but he had no one for himself. He had thought at one point that he could have had that kind of relationship with Cheetara, but he knew there was no chance of that happening now. He still had feelings for her and he would do nothing to hurt her, but that still left him very much alone. Maybe this was his punishment for all the years he'd spent tormenting his brother and for trying to ruin the blooming relationship between the lion prince and the cheetah. Whatever the reason, it hurt to feel like this.

Oh sure there had been women in his life, but it wasn't the same and it had always made him feel empty inside. He stepped into his tent and set the paper he had in his hands on the small table before sitting on the small cot. He leaned his elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair. He needed sleep for the upcoming battle tomorrow, but as he laid down his wished that for once he would not be sleeping alone or with some random woman only to wake up alone.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Well another chapter finally done and I have to say sorry to my loyal readers. I had a hell of writers block on how I wanted this chapter to go, and started and then deleted it several times before this one came to me. So here you go, and once again I would like to thank my beta readers for looking it over. Thanks a bunch

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter XI**

The sounds of the battle could be heard even deep inside Mumm-Ra's inner sanctum. The attack came from out of nowhere just after dawn, which infuriated the mummy to no end. Try as he might for the past few days, every time that he looked into his all-seeing pool there was nothing—no signs of what the cats where doing after he and his army attacked their city.

"Lord Mumm-Ra," Silthe said rushing into the sanctum, "The cats have broken through the defenses," the Lizard General informed his master. "I had thought the Fortress was impenetrable," he questioned.

"Do not question me. Get out there and kill every one of those miserable cats." Mumm-Ra boomed.

The fact that he could not understand what and how this was happening made the ancient creature grow very angry. How could the being that he devoted his life and energy to block to this attack? He looked to the idols that surrounded the sanctum and wondered just what had caused them to go silent for the past few days.

* * *

Out in the halls of the fortress four cats were cutting a bloody path further in. The red maned lion who was leading them was out at point despite the objections of his companions. Yet no matter how much they tried to get him to hold back, he wanted none of that. All he could focus upon were the group of lizards that had taken away the love of his life, and he was not about to give them the chance to do it again.

Ducking under some gunfire, Lion-O dashed back and forth making it harder for the lizard to get a bead on him. Before they knew what was happening he was upon them making sure every one of them answered for the lives of every Cat that had fallen during their raid. Soon the four ThunderCats had cleared the section they were in and had a chance for a breather.

"What's gotten into you?"

"We have the element of surprise, brother. We need to keep it up and not let Mumm-Ra know what we are really planning." Lion-O answered as he looked at his brother.

"Still, kid, you fight like you're possessed." Panthro added.

"Are we going to stand around here and talk or are we going to finish our mission?" Lion-O asked as he stood there, lizard blood dripping from the tip off his sword.

Cheetara looked at her love and was a bit scared at how he had dispatched the lizard soldiers they had encountered. While she understood that this was a fight to the death and for the future of their people, each of them had taken out their fair share of the enemy. However, Lion-O seemed to be taking this more personally and with more ferocity. She stood close to him and observed his demeanor, then noticed something.

"Lion-O you're injured." She said noticing the gash on his upper right arm.

"It's nothing, let's keep moving." He said as he started to move but she stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Cheetara, the longer we stand here and waste time, the greater chance more of our fellow cats are killed outside," he said trying to move again.

"We're not going anywhere until you let me bind that wound," she insisted.

Lion-O looked into her eyes and saw the determination set in them. Despite the fact that he was heir to the throne, Lion-O knew well enough by now not to argue with his lover about something like this. He nodded to her, giving in and standing still as she ripped some cloth from her own cloths to make a makeshift bandage.

"We need to get going, more lizards are coming this way." Panthro said as he stood guard.

"Which way Lion-O?" Tygra asked.

Lion-O looked to him then to Cheetara as she finished. He looked down the long corridor, feeling as if something was guiding him further into the fortress—sensing it was the same force that gave him that dream last night. He had a fair idea of who it was, but without being able to get to the Sword he couldn't be sure.

* * *

[Flashback]

Lion-O was lying in his cot with Cheetara snuggled closely next to him. The long march of the day and her worry after talking with his father had tired her out, but not enough that it kept them from making love once more before she finally fell asleep. Now she lay next to him with her head on his shoulder sleeping peacefully. He loved being with her like this and knew he was going to have her move into his room with him once they returned to Thundera. He also knew that there would be talk within the court when it happened.

However, this was not what was keeping him awake staring at the canvas of his tent above him. No he was also worried about the upcoming battle and what Cheetara told him about what his father had said to her. He knew that neither he nor his father ever saw eye to eye as he was growing up, but now just as they were starting to come together as a family, Lion-O couldn't stand the thought of losing the only parent he had. Not like this—not at the blade of some lizard. No, Lion-O would never say anything to anyone about it, but he still needed his father. He still had so much to learn from the man.

_"Destroy the __sarcophagus__ and you will destroy him_ _forever." _A voice rang in his head.

He looked over to Cheetara and for a moment he thought that it had been hers, but she was sound asleep. There could only be one other possibility of the origin of that voice, yet the voice was not the same as before. In fact, this voice sounded a lot more female than the spirit he talked with before.

He was too tired right now to figure it out, so he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[End Flashback]

The small quartet stopped at a junction and looked around the corner. As Lion-O looked down the hall, he felt that pull again, that force that was drawing him and his party further and further into the fortress. He wasn't sure why he trusted this pull, but he knew if it led him to Mumm-Ra and a way to carry out his plan to eliminate the biggest threat to all of Third Earth then he was going to take whatever risks that he had to.

"We're close." He said quietly.

"How can you be sure?" Cheetara asked him.

"I'm not sure entirely, but something is telling me to go this way," Lion-O answered her.

"So you planned this whole mission on your gut?" Tygra interjected.

"I can't explain it, Tygra, but something it pulling me this direction, telling me that we need to take out Mumm-Ra's sarcophagus." Lion-O looked at his brother then to Cheetara hoping that she would understand. "All I do know is once we destroy it, he'll be no different than you or me."

"This feels wrong." Tygra said once more.

"Well, however it feels to you, Lion-O led us this far and there no going back." Panthro said.

Lion-O looked to the elder panther and then to the rest of his companions. All of them gave him a nod, agreeing with Panthro's statement. Even his brother agreed to keep pressing on despite his misgivings. The young Prince nodded back and started moving again in the direction of the crypt.

* * *

[Flashback]

Lion-O opened his eyes, quickly realizing he was not in the tent with Cheetara anymore. In fact he was in a place that he barely remembered from when he was a child, when things were a lot simpler before his mother passed away. The vast green meadow just outside palace was just like he remembered it from childhood.

He knew he had to be dreaming being here again. The meadow hadn't looked this manicured since she had passed away. He let out a deep sad sigh when he thought about that day when he was only six years old and his father came and told him and Tygra the sad news.

"Why did you have to go?" Lion-O said, feeling a tear slide down his cheek.

_"It was simply my time, my son." _A voice said behind him.

Even after all these years he knew the sound of his mother's voice. He spun around only to see her standing there before him. She looked just as he remembered her before she got sick.

"H...how?" He stuttered taking a few steps back only to fall on his rear.

"_Still uneasy on your feet."_She said with a slight chuckle, walking towards him.

"Mother?" Lion-O asked with hesitation in his voice.

_"Yes, sweetheart." _She said kneeling down in front of him.

He shook his head thinking that it was only a dream but when he opened his eyes again she was still there kneeling in front of him. Her warm smile that would make all his pains go away whenever he had gotten hurt as a child was spread across her face. When he looked into her eyes all doubt that it was really her was gone. Like a little cub again he launched himself into her arms.

"I've missed you so much mother," Lion-O said as he buried his face in his mother's chest, unable to contain his tears.

The former Queen of Thundera held her son tightly. Lion-O felt her stoke his mane as she did when he was a young cub. Dream or not, he didn't want to let her go, just wanted to feel his mother's warmth once again.

_"You've grown into such a wonderful young man my son." _The Queen told him as she rocked her son to calm him. _"You've made me so proud, but I do not have much time," _she said.

"No, I'm not letting you go again. I miss you, Tygra misses you, and Father misses you." Lion-O pulled himself away just enoug to look into his mother's eyes.

_"And I miss you all deeply, but I have only been given enough time to give you a message," _she said, placing a hand on her son's cheek and wiping away a tear. _"Maybe when this is all over I can visit you again, but for now please listen. The creature you face tomorrow, Mumm-Ra. He is not indestructible."_

Lion-O looked to his mother and wondered what she'd meant by that. Granted he knew there had to be a way to kill the vile creature, but how he didn't know. He had thought about asking the spirit in the sword for any clues but with his father carrying the sword ever since they had left Thundera, it had been hard for him to get close to it.

_"His sarcophagus is the key my son." _She looked down into his eyes. _"I am proud of you my son and of what you have become, and who you have chosen, I wish I had more time, but now I must go and you must awake," _she said, giving her son one final hug and kiss on the forehead before stepping away from him.

"Mother, please, don't leave me," Lion-O called to her.

Try as he might and as fast as he ran he could not reach her. She seemed so close yet still so far away. Tears streamed from his blue eyes and as she finally faded from his sight. Lion-O dropped to his knees and bent over, crying into his open hands. He sat there in the middle of wherever this place was and cried, but soon he heard another voice call out to him. At first he thought it could have been his mother again, but as he listend he knew all too well who it was.

When he opened his eyes he looked up to see the warm smiling face of his love and future queen. He smiled back at her, reaching up to cup her cheek, bringing her close to him and kissing her deeply. Cheetara wasn't sure what had come over her prince to cause him to react to her waking him with such passion, but she wasn't going to complain. After last night's talk with his father, making love last night and again this morning was more than welcome.

[End Flashback]

* * *

"Cheetara, behind you!" Lion-O yelled as he spotted another lizard sneaking in behind his love.

The closer they were getting to their final destination the more of Mumm-Ra's goons they started to encounter. It was a clear sign to all of them that they were on the right path. There was a brief reprieve from the oncoming lizard assault. It was enough time for them to catch their breaths and think.

"This is taking far longer than planned." Tygra said as he tried to catch his breath.

Lion-O agreed with his brother, it was taking longer than he had planned to get to the crypt and to Mumm-Ra's sarcophagus. Each moment wasted fighting the lizard was a moment longer than he feared their soldiers outside had—or even had themselves. He looked over to Cheetara standing next to him. He was worried about everyone's safety but he worried for her most of all. Even the reassuring smile that she was giving him didn't help the deep feeling of fear in his gut.

"Then we need to push harder." Lion-O finally said.

"I think it might better our chances if we split up from here," Cheetara spoke up, causing the men to look at her. "Think about it, with the four of us together it is harder for us to move about the fortress. In pairs we can move more swiftly and attack Mumm-Ra's crypt from two different directions."

Lion-O looked at her for a moment and then started to contemplate this idea. He could hear Tygra starting to voice his thoughts on it but he ignored him for the time being. He knew his brother would jump at the chance to get to the crypt first and set the explosives. Even though _thing_between them was starting to get better, Tygra's competitive drive concerning Lion-O still existed. He looked to Panthro who only gave him a nod.

"Alright, we'll split up." Lion-O said. "Cheetara you're with me, Tygra you and Panthro keep heading down that way. If the map we found is accurate, then the hall should lead you two the east side of the crypt. We'll go this way." Lion-O pointed to the hall to their left. "Don't take any unnecessary risks and don't make a move on the crypt alone, got it?" He said looking right at Tygra.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll do what we can to save some for you," Tygra said with a smirk.

Lion-O shook his head at his brother. He knew well enough that Tygra would try to beat him if the opportunity should arise. He stood there for a moment and watched him as he and Panthro started down the path they were assigned. Despite the competition between them and the trouble they'd had in the past, Lion-O still worried about his brother. He felt Cheetara walk up next to him and place a hand on his arm.

"They'll be fine and we need to move my prince." She told him softly.

"I can't help but worry." Lion-O said placing a hand over hers. "But you're right, let's get going." He looked over to her and leaned in for a quick kiss.

* * *

"Silthe what is going on?" Mumm-Ra roared.

"I am not sure myself." The lizard general hissed out. "All I know is that cats are attacking and there are reports of a small group of them in the pyramid." Silthe raised an eyebrow at the mummy. "I thought that you knew all Mumm-Ra?"

"Are you questioning me Silthe?" Mumm-Ra snarled at his general.

"You are all knowing Mumm-Ra, but yet we had no idea that the cats were about to attack." Silthe questioned again with a mocking tone. "Maybe you are not as all knowing as you claim."

"Do not question my power, Slithe." Mumm-Ra snapped again.

Silthe could see it all over his master's face, he was worried. Well, as worried as a creature like him could get. This was a surprise attack with no warning from the mummy. The lizard was losing his people quickly, all in the name of revenge that this creature had sought against the cats. Silthe was no fan of them either but after the failed attack on Thundera, Mumm-Ra's increasing lack of regard for the lizards had started to wear down on Silthe.

"I am beginning to question your reason. You are so driven by revenge on the cats that you care not for the amount of my people you throw at them," Silthe said just as another explosion sounded through the fortress.

"If you do not like how I am doing things then I will find new generals who will do my bidding without question." Mumm-Ra spat back.

"If you do then you will do it without my men," Slithe threatened back.

He knew he was pushing his luck with the mummy, but even a cold-blooded lizard had his limits. His people were few in number compared to the cats as it was, and as things stood his people would be extinct before the day was out. He could see the anger build in Mumm-Ra's eyes and he was about to say something in return when the sound of laser fire could be heard down the east hall.

* * *

[Flashback]

"Father you have to trust me on this, it will work," Lion-O insisted as he stood inside his father's tent that morning.

Claudus looked at his younger son and thought about what he was proposing. He rubbed a hand over his beard as he looked over to his son's mate. It was a difficult choice that he was being asked to make.

"I don't like it; we are supposed to plan the attack because you had a dream about how to kill Mumm-Ra?" Tygra added, sitting in one of the chairs in the tent. "How do we know that it was Mumm-Ra who sent you that dream only to get you alone in his fortress?" Tygra questioned. "I mean you did pretty much stop his invasion plan."

"That not it at all." Lion-O looked back at his father, the king. "Please Father. I know in my gut that this is what must be done to take care of Mumm-Ra once and for all." Lion-O said with a very determined look on his face.

Claudus still had not said a word about his son's request to enter the fortress on his own and deal with Mumm-Ra while the rest of the army fought the creature's lizard army. It was a risky plan to say the least and one that he could very well cause him to lose his youngest son. He looked about the small tent at the people who had gathered there. With a final stroke of his beard and a deep sigh Claudus nodded his head.

"Very well, but on one condition, you will not go alone," Claudus answered finally. "Gather a small group and carry out your plan my son. I, along with the rest of the army will do our best to keep Mumm-Ra's attention outside his fortress and blind to your movements."

As they sat there listening to the King lay out the rest of the plan for the day's attack, not all of them were paying complete attention. Cheetara was busy with her own thoughts about this plan. Something about it just didn't feel right, and as much as she hated to admit it, a part of her was thinking that Tygra might be right. Yet, she understood the reason why Lion-O wanted to go after Mumm-Ra and if there was a chance that they could end this war before it really got started then she was all for it.

However, what was it that Lion-O saw in his dream to make him come up with this plan? No one knew that Mumm-Ra existed and only knew of him in the stories of their people's past. So how was it that Lion-O was able to dream of a way to kill him once and for all? That was the cleric side of her talking, but her other half, the one that trusted and loved the prince so much was telling her to just keep trusting him. She shook herself mentally and focused on the rest of the plan being laid out. She trusted Lion-O with her life and if for some reason this was a trap, then she would be by his side to protect him, even if it meant her life again.

[End Flashback]

"We're here," Lion-O said in a whisper, yet he got no response from her and when he looked back to her she seemed lost in thought. "Cheetara?"

With a touch of his hand and the sound of her name on his lips, Cheetara was quickly brought out of her thoughts from earlier that morning. When she turned to him she saw that Lion-O was looking back at her with concern in his eyes. She said nothing at first but gave him a reassuring smile that she was fine.

"We're here" he said again. "And from the sound of it, Tygra and Panthro are giving us one hell of a distraction," he told her.

He looked back into the crypt. The sound of a fight on the other side could still be heard. A quick scan of the room and Lion-O could see Mumm-Ra standing in front of a giant pool of what appeared to be water or some other liquid. The mummy's back was to them, which was going to make getting in easier. However, the sarcophagus was only a few feet away from Mumm-Ra.

"We've got to find a way to get Mumm-Ra away from the sarcophagus," Lion-O said as he turned around and leaned against the wall behind him.

"Leave that to me, I've got something I want to talk to him about," Cheetara said gripping her staff tightly.

Lion-O looked at her and noticed the look in her eyes. He was sure that the so-called talk would be her trying to fight him and pay him back for everything he had done to her and to them. There was also the fact that she wanted to protect him. He let out a low sigh and placed his hand over hers as it gripped her staff. As their eyes met, the fieriness in her eyes lessened.

"I'll face Mumm-Ra, Cheetara," he started and continued when she tried to object. 'I've faced him before and I've got a bigger score to settle with him." He then took the pouch that he was carrying off his shoulder and handed it to her. "Take the explosives and complete the mission. Once there set, get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"I'll be right behind you," Lion-O said cupping her cheek, "Don't worry my love, now that I have you back I'm not going to let anything or anyone keep us apart again." He reassured her before leaning over and kissing her lips.

Cheetara eagerly returned his kiss, but even their passionate kiss did not lessen the worry that was building in her gut. However, she trusted his word and one look in his blue eyes confirmed it.

"You'd better be my prince, or I will come after you till I find you." She said with a determined look in her crimson eyes that told Lion-O she meant what she said.

They shared one more kiss before parting ways. Cheetara watched him enter the crypt with his sword firmly gripped in his hands. She heard him shout out to the mummy and knew that was her cue to make her move.

* * *

"Mumm-Ra," Lion-O shouted to get the mummy's attention as he walked into the crypt. "Time to put an end to you, you bag of bones," he quipped.

Mumm-Ra whirled around and let out a deep growl at the site of the young lion prince that had derailed his takeover of Thundera. As much as he wanted to dispatch the young cat himself the mummy spotted several of his lizard soldiers heading toward him. He started to let out a deep laugh.

"It seems that you will not be the one to end this ThunderCat." Mumm-Ra said as he watched his lizards attack.

Lion-O turned to face the oncoming lizards and smirked as everything was going according to his plan. If they were focused on the three of them then that meant Cheetara could get to the sarcophagus and set the charges. As Lion-O started taking out one Lizard after another, he heard the battle cry of his other companions and another smirk crossed his face.

"What kept you?" Lion-O asked his brother as he kicked another lizard causing it to skid across the floor.

'Well you know how it is, have to see if I can beat you in the number we take down," Tygra answered.

Lion-O just let out a grunt as more Lizards came rushing toward them. Their numbers were starting to grow but Lion-O was not worried. A bright flash of yellow caught his eye and he knew that Cheetara was making her move, so it was now time to make his.

"Keep them busy I'm going after Mumm-Ra," Lion-O yelled to Panthro and Tygra.

Before either of them could say a word he was running head long after the decrepit mummy. Mumm-Ra was too busy watching the battle between his lizards and the cats that he nearly missed Lion-O charging at him. He dodged Lion-O's strike but not enough to avoid the hit completely. For the first time in centuries, pain surged through the area were Lion-O had cut him.

"How?" Mumm-Ra hissed, his hand gripping over the cut.

"So you can bleedthat means that you're not immortal after all," Lion-O said.

"I am Mumm-Ra the ever living, not mortal weapon can or should be able to harm me," Mumm-Ra snarled.

"Well I guess you were misinformed bone bag," the lion prince smirked back, 'This time we finish what we started back in Thundera," he said again and then charged after him.

* * *

[Flashback]

"Son take it."

"I can't, it's your sword." Lion-O looked at his father.

Claudus had asked Lion-O to stay behind after the briefing was over. Now the young prince stood before his father looking down at what he was offering him. What his father was suggesting was completely crazy.

"Father you will need it in battle today."

"Not as much as you will my son," Claudus said, looking down at the sword. "Legend tells that Leo was able to harm Mumm-Ra with the Sword of Omens. If that is true then you will need it for your fight with him."

As they spoke the sword's eye started to glow and both lions could have sworn that it looked to Lion-O. Lion-O looked down at it and as if it was calling to him and he reached out and put his hand over the eye. The sword reacted to it new master's presence accordingly.

"It knows you son, and the sword chooses it's master, not the other way around. I saw what you were able to do with the sword in your hands. It is a part of you Lion-O, just as you have always been a part of it since the day of your birth." Claudus said as his son looked to him with questioning eyes. "There will be time to explain more after this battle. However, for now take it, show Mumm-Ra what the true master of this sword can do."

[End Flashback]

* * *

"Your speed will only get you so far, lion prince, but in the end it will be I, Mumm-Ra the ever living, that will rule over all the beasts of Third Earth." Mumm-Ra laughed and then chanted the incantation that changes him to his true form.

When the light of the transformation finally died, Mumm-Ra was greeted with a golden fist coming at his face. The hit was hard and unexpected, which sent the mummy flying across the crypt into one of the ancient statues of evil, cracking it. When he pulled himself from the rubble he saw the lion prince with the golden gauntlet and Sword of Omens. He understood at that moment just how the young cub could inflict pain on him.

"A gift from my father—to end your miserable existence and free Third Earth from your evil." Lion-O's blue eyes were glowing.

"You are not the only one with powers of the stone pup," Mumm-Ra said, standing fully upright. A shield and sword of his own was fixed in either hand. "Now kitten, let us finish this as you say."

Lion-O was undeterred by this new development and let out a deep growl before charging straight at Mumm-Ra. The mummy charged at the lion prince at the same moment. He knew that by the end of this one or both of them would be dead. Despite his promise to Cheetara, he was willing to give his life to make sure that Mumm-Ra never harmed another animal on Third Earth again.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Well another chapter down and I think that I've got only one more to go before I wrap this story up. What to thank browynn for editing this chapter for me. She been a great help.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter XII**

The sound of metal against metal could be heard ringing throughout the fortress. The fight between Lion-O and Mumm-Ra was quickly reaching a fevered pitch. Neither opponent was giving the other an opening for an attack. For Mumm-Ra this was very frustrating. He had hoped to end this battle and claim his prize quickly. However, the young lion prince was proving to be a tougher advisory than he had first thought. It seemed to Mumm-Ra that Lion-O was able to wield more power out of that sword than he had when they faced each other in Thundera.

Another pass at each other and more sparks flew when their swords met. They stood there, blades locked, both pushing against one another in a struggle to see who was the stronger of the two. Lion-O was not backing down and Mumm-Ra knew that if he was going to win the fight that he was going to have to use a bit of trickery. With his eyes locked on the cat's Mumm-Ra willed one of his wrappings toward Lion-O. He intended to wrap it around a part of his body and send a bit of dark energy through his body.

As the bandage was just about to make contact Lion-O jumped back. It was as if he had seen or had known what he was trying to do. A deep aggravated growl emanated from Mumm-Ra's throat.

"Your tricks won't work on me this time." Lion-O said as he landed on his feet ready for his opponent's attack.

"You cannot run forever, cat," Mumm-Ra hissed. "You will have to get close to attack me and when you do..." he said with a laugh.

"I wouldn't count on that," Cheetara said with a smirk.

Mumm-Ra looked over to where the female's voice originated and a sudden feeling of dread came over him. She was standing next to his sarcophagus holding something in her hand. As he looked behind her Mumm-Ra could see some of the explosives attached to it that his lizard army had used on Thundera. All of them were armed and ready to blow if and when she pushed the trigger.

"Get away from there now!" Mumm-Ra demanded, as he drew a bolt of energy in his hand ready to strike her with it.

"Or what?" She asked.

"Your finished Mumm-Ra," Lion-O said with a proud smile on his face. "Without your sarcophagus you are nothing more than an old bag of bones and will lose your connection to the ancient spirits that give you your power," Lion-O said, gripping his sword tighter waiting for Mumm-Ra to make a move.

"You do not know the powers you are playing with, cat," Mumm-Ra hissed. "You think destroying that will end my powers." He said chuckling evilly.

"Good thing we brought more than enough to take care of these statues as well," Tygra said with a smart-assed tone as he knocked out the last lizard.

"Yeah, I think there enough explosives here to take down the entire crypt." Panthro said walking around another statue holding another detonator.

Mumm-Ra growled at them all and quickly tried to move toward Cheetara. However, Lion-O was quick to react and blocked the Mummy's path. He kicked Mumm-Ra in the gut sending him skidding across the floor. He knew there was no other choice. They had to set the charges off.

"Do it." Lion-O yelled to them all.

He knew what he was asking his friends to do, but it was the only way he knew how to defeat Mumm-Ra once and for all. There was no other choice, if he took off running with the others then he knew Mumm-Ra would have enough time to get rid of the explosives and their mission would be a failure. They had come too far and had lost too many good people in the first attack to let that happen again.

"Lion-O!" Cheetara yelled to him.

"Do it now, set them off." He said in a grunted tone as he blocked another attack from Mumm-Ra.

Cheetara looked at her love and then to the detonator. She knew in her gut that this was the right thing to do, but she also knew that there was a good chance Lion-O might not make it out alive when the explosives went off.

"Hurry!" Lion-O yelled again.

Mumm-Ra was fighting harder than he was before. Fury and rage projected from the mummy the likes of which Lion-O had never seen, making the swing of his sword harder to block. In a brief moment he locked eyes with Cheetara and gave her a small smile and nod, reminding her that he remembered the promise he had made her. And with that she hit the button on the detonator, beginning the countdown. When he saw her run toward the exit with Panthro and his brother, Lion-O turned his focus to Mumm-Ra.

"You've lost Mumm-Ra, now it's time to end you." Lion-O said with a snarl.

"If I go then I'm taking you with me," Mumm-Ra said launching a bolt of energy at Lion-O.

Lion-O saw it coming and as much as he tried to avoid it, he was so tired that his movements were beginning to get sluggish. The bolt got him in the right shoulder and sent him flying across the room. Pain radiated through his body but he ignored it and tried to get up. When he did he was met with a foot in the chest sending him flying into a pillar. The impact knocked the breath out of him and pain radiated once again through his body.

He looked up to see Mumm-Ra standing over him, his sword ready to make the final blow. As Mumm-Ra swung he lifted his gauntlet arm to block the attack. However, the impact never came. He looked up in his haze to see another sword blocking Mumm-Ra's. Both of them looked to see who the barer of the new weapon was and Lion-O was shocked to see that it was his father. Before Lion-O or Mumm-Ra could understand what was going on Mumm-Ra let out a bloodcurdling yell of pain.

When Lion-O looked to what was going on from his position another blade was sticking out of Mumm-Ra's chest. It was quickly pulled out and Mumm-Ra turned to face his new attackers. In a split-second reaction Lion-O used his own sword and stabbed Mumm-Ra in the ribs. Pulling his sword out Mumm-Ra tried to swing at him again but once again his father tried to block the attack. It was successful to a point, but the impact sent Claudus flying.

Lion-O didn't have time to think, he had to get to his feet and get his father out of there before the explosives went off. When he got to his feet, he was shocked to see that the third person who had attacked Mumm-Ra was Slithe. He had never expected that he would owe the Lizard General his life.

"Slithe, you traitor." Mumm-Ra spouted, his wounds leaking vital life fluids.

"I am not a traitor when the welfare of my people comes before your twisted need for revenge," Slithe hissed then looked to Lion-O, "Take your King and get out of here, I will finish this." Slithe ordered.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind." Lion-O said.

"This is my choice boy, now go."

As Lion-O tried to get to his father Mumm-Ra came at him again. The red in his eyes looked to be flames of anger. However, Lion-O didn't flinch, he just reacted. He ducked under Mumm-Ra swing and returned with a swing of his own, putting a large gash across Mumm-Ra chest. Black blood spurted out soaking Lion-O's face and chest. Mumm-Ra staggered back a few steps then fell to his knees, his sword dropping from his hand only to be picked up by Slithe.

Lion-O made it to his father and helped him up, completely unaware of the stone shard that was protruding from Claudus's back. He helped his father toward the exit, turning back to look at Slithe. Both Lions watched as the Lizard General rammed Mumm-Ra with his own sword as the first set of explosives went off around the sarcophagus. The blast engulfed both Lizard and Mummy.

* * *

Outside and a safe distance away Cheetara was standing on a hill waiting for Lion-O to emerge. The charges they had set had started a chain reaction throughout the pyramid. Now flames and smoke could be seen bellowing out of every opening of the black structure. As the minutes passed the worry gnawed harder in her gut. He had promised to her that he would come back, and she made one to him that she would give him her answer when the battle was over. She would not believe that they had come so far together only to have the spirits tear them apart.

"Still no sign of them?" Tygra asked as he walked up next to her. She didn't answer, only shook her head. "I'm sure he's fine." He said trying to reassure her.

"Is there any sign of the King?" She asked without looking at him.

"Not yet, but we do know that he went into the fortress right before we came out," Tygra told her, trying not to sound too worried about his father.

Cheetara just continued her watch for Lion-O and the King. She could hear the worry in Tygra's voice even though he had tried his best to hide it. She understood how he was feeling. The thought of losing both Lion-O and Claudus—that was something she just could not deal with. As the sun sank lower in the sky the soldiers who had been sent to look for the King and Prince returned, their search unsuccessful.

"It's the King," someone yelled, "And Prince Lion-O is with him!"

Cheetara looked to Tygra and they both had the same relieved expression on their faces. Before he could even blink she was gone in a yellow flash. The tiger was soon running after her and within moments they had both made it to where Lion-O and Claudus were. Both of them had cuts and scratches over their bodies but Tygra knew immediately that his father was injured far worse than his brother.

"Lion-O?" Cheetara questioned as she approached him.

"Father's hurt pretty bad, we need to get him to the medics right away," Lion-O said with deep concern in his voice.

"What about you, brother?"

"I'm fine, we need to hurry," he told them.

Tygra wasted no time helping his brother carry their unconscious father toward the medical tents. As soon as they arrived a bed was cleared for the king so that he could be examined. The medic looked Claudus over and then looked to the Princes. Both the boys knew that the look they received was not a good one.

"He's lost a lot of blood. We need to operate right away if he's going to have a chance," the Doctor told them.

"Alright, let's go then." Lion-O grabbed the stretcher to help carry his father.

"Your highness…" the Doctor began, "you have injuries of your own that need to be tended to, let us take care of the King."

"Doc's right kid, go get patched up" Panthro said.

"Lion-O, I'll be there with him the entire time okay? Just go get yourself cleaned up." Pumyra said, putting a reassuring hand on him.

Lion-O looked to the people around him and then nodded. They were right, there was nothing he could do for his father now and he had to leave it in the hands of the doctors and Pumyra. He would be no good to anyone if his wounds were not healed and he ended up sick as a result.

"Alright, but I want to know as soon as they are finished," he told them all.

"Just go little brother, I'll wait here."

Lion-O looked to his brother and put a hand on his upper arm. They both shared a worried look before Lion-O turned to leave the main tent. As he did Tygra looked to Cheetara and gave her a simple nod to go with him. She nodded in return and followed after her prince.

* * *

Minutes later Lion-O walked into his tent, throwing the gauntlet and Sword of Omens onto his cot. He was angry about how things turned out. The whole plan was to keep his father safe outside and not facing Mumm-Ra. However, that didn't happen and now his father was fighting for his life on a surgical table. He ripped off the rest of his armor, throwing it about angrily only to let out a deep growl of pain from his erratic movements.

"I failed." Lion-O leaned against the table in his tent, his head hung down in shame.

This was how Cheetara found him only a few minutes after he had walked into his tent. She looked about the tent, noticing his things were scatted all around. On instinct she went over to Lion-O and put a hand on his shoulder. She could feel him pull away and hiss a bit from pain.

"Take off your shirt," she told him. He said nothing but let her remove his shirt. "Oh Lion-O," she said softly as she got a good look at his wounds, "go sit on the bed while I get some supplies to clean your wounds."

"I failed, Cheetara," he said quietly as he sat on his cot, "I failed to keep father safe during the battle."

"You didn't fail, Lion-O," she took a seat behind him with a clean wet rag. "The King knew the risks before he went into the pyramid." She began to gently clean up the dried blood that was matted into his fur.

She heard him hiss when the cloth touched his cuts. It broke her heart to see him like this. She never knew her parents as well as Lion-O knew his father, yet she still could understand the pain that he was going through right now. However, at a time like this Cheetara was really not sure how to help him aside from just being here when he needed her the most.

"What if he doesn't make it Cheetara? I don't think I can lose my father as well," he said softly.

"Your father is a strong cat my love, he will pull through," she reassured him.

"But what is he doesn't?" he said as he looked back at her.

The pain in his blue eyes shot right through her. He was hurting so much and the evidence was clear in those blue eyes of his. She didn't have an answer for him so she did the only thing that she knew to do. She leaned forward and kissed him gently and wrapped her arms around his neck. She placed her chin on his shoulder and let out a soft sigh. She was trying to think of something to tell him, but the words were just not coming to her. They stayed like that for quite a while just taking comfort from each other's company. Only the sound of someone calling for Lion-O caused them to separate. He got up and without bothering to put his shirt on walked over to the tent entrance hoping that it was some good news about his father condition. Yet he only saw one of the officers of the army and some lizard prisoner.

"What is it Captain?" Lion-O asked.

"I was informed to come to you and ask you what you would like done with the prisoners," the captain responded.

Lion-O emerged from the tent with Cheetara right behind him. He looked over the group of Lizards they had managed to capture during the battle. He looked over to Cheetara and then to back to the Lizards once again—a thought coming to his mind. The Lion stepped closer to them all as he prepared himself to speak.

"I am going to let the future queen of Thundera decide your fate, but before I do I want to tell you that your General fought and died with honor. He sacrificed his life to free you of Mumm-Ra's rule so whether she condems you to life in prison or sets you free, know that it was not the cat's that killed General Silthe but Mumm-Ra himself in his quest for vengeance." Lion-O's words caused them to mummer amongst themselves. "Their fate is in your hands," Lion-O said, looking back to Cheetara.

She looked at him, surprised that he would say something about her being his future queen. She had not even said yes, even though if he had asked again she already knew her answer. Still, being put on the spot like this unnerved her, not to mention the fact that she held the lives of over a dozen lizards in her hands right at the moment. Yet one look at Lion-O gave her all the courage she needed. She stepped up next to him and took his hand into hers, attempting to draw some strength from him.

"Prince Lion-O is correct. Silthe gave his life for not only my future husband and King Claudus but also all of you. So go back to your homes and families. As the future Queen of Thundera I assure you that a full pardon will be granted to any Lizard who is willing to do so." They all looked shocked at her unexpected statement. "Let this be the beginning of peace between the cats and lizard clans."

"Sire…"

"You heard her Captain, release them all; but pass this warning along as well. Any Lizard that raises a sword a the cat again will be dealt with swiftly." Lion-O earned a gentle squeeze from Cheetara hand.

Lion-O looked to Cheetara. Her words had not been lost on him. She hadn't told him directly yet her words to the Lizards about him being her future husband were quite clear. Even in the midst of uncertainty about the fate of his father he was happy that she had agreed. Her look was equally happy but as he looked into her eyes he could tell that there was something on her mind. As much as he wanted to ask her about it, now was not the time. Lion-O turned his attention to the soldiers that were unchaining the Lizards. He was proud of her and the way that she had spoken to them. It was just one more reason he knew that Cheetara would be a Queen that the people would love as much as his mother—if not more.

* * *

Lion-O spent the next several hours in his tent resting up after the battle. Cheetara was cuddled against him as they waited for news to come about his father. Lion-O's worry increased with every passing hour. Cheetara could feel the tension coming from Lion-O which only made her worry more about the news she had to deliver to him. It was important and as much as she wanted to hold it off, she knew it was best to tell him now.

"Lion-O…"

"Hmm…" he answered sleepily.

"I…I need to tell you something." She was a bit worried about what he was going to think or say when she told him. She waited for him to say anything but his silence indicated that he was waiting for her to begin. "Have you ever thought about having kids?" she asked him.

"Eventually, yeah I would like to have a nice size family."

"So, not any time soon?" She tried to keep the worry out of her voice.

"Why do you ask?" Lion-O turned to face her.

He tried to figure out what the look on her face was, but she was hard to read. All he could be certain of was that it concerned her. With a slight groan of pain from wounds he turned to face her completely. Reaching his hand over he moved a few locks of stray hair out of her face. Cheetara snuggled closer to him. His touch sent a soothing and calming feeling through her, as it always had in the past.

"Cheetara, what is it?" he asked her tenderly.

She didn't want to spoil this quiet time they were spending together, but she knew he had a right to know. The news was far too important to wait till the time was right. She took in a deep breath, centering herself before she spoke.

"I'm late Lion-O." she told him quietly.

"Late? What are you late for?" he asked her. When she looked into his eyes, he returned the gesture. He studied her expression and at first the statement was completely lost on him, but then it hit him like a bolt of lightning. "You mean…?" he asked, feeling his mouth get dry all the sudden.

"Yes, daddy." Cheetara said with a worried smile.

When Lion-O didn't react immediately she became worried about his response. He just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Lion-O was quite stunned by her announcement. He propped himself up in the bed and looked down at her, is mind racing in all sorts of directions. As he tried to get his thoughts in order, Cheetara spoke.

"Lion-O if you're not ready for this…then I can…" she began but was unable to finish.

"Ready for this? Are you kidding me?" Lion-O was finally able to speak. "Tell me a parent that is ever ready to have children. I would be lying in saying that I'm a hundred percent sure about being a father so soon, but that doesn't mean I don't want it." He turned to look down at her. "It's just a bit of a shock with everything that going on with father."

"I know the timing isn't the best. I've wanted to tell you for a while now, but there was just so much going on." Cheetara felt better knowing that Lion-O was accepting of the baby. Yet she felt a twinge of worry shoot through her when she noticed his expression change.

"You mean that you went into battle while you are pregnant with our child?" His voice was laced with alarm. He quickly put his hand on her belly and looked down to it. "Are you and the baby okay?" he asked.

"Yes, we're both fine. Pumyra checked me out when I returned to the camp." Cheetara placed a hand over his, overjoyed by the care and love in his voice. "She assured me before the battle that it was safe to go but that I had to be to be careful."

"Still, I wish you would have told me sooner."

"Then you would have faced Mumm-Ra alone and it was more important to be there with you at the time," she told him.

Lion-O still didn't like the idea but there was nothing he could do about it now. It was over with and she and the baby were fine. He looked from her belly to her crimson eyes, smiling warmly with love in his eyes. He was going to be a father, and the woman he loved with every part of his being was carrying his child—future heir to the throne of Thundera. Yet this wonderful news came at a sad time. Cheetara knew that it was unfair, but she had been holding it off long enough.

"Well from now on you and the baby come first. I don't want anything to happen to you or our child." He realized at that moment that eh enjoyed talking about their baby.

"Okay." She answered him with a smile on her face.

"Lion-O!" Panthro called from outside his tent.

"We'll talk more about it later." He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you."

"Love you too my prince." Cheetara answered back as she watched him head out to speak with Panthro.

She was happy—happy to be carrying Lion-O's child. It didn't matter to her whether of not that baby could one day be heir to the throne. All that mattered was it was Lion- child who was conceived out of the love they had for one another. She had gotten pregnant before they were even married, but that didn't matter very much. Cheetara knew when he had asked her to marry him what her answer would be. However, she was too scared to tell him, not only because she knew she had conceived his child buy also due to the battle that had been looming ahead. However that was over now and before she had even thought about it she had announced her pending nuptials to Lion-O as well as to everyone outside his tent.

She lay there on the cot, her hand resting over her stomach wondering just what their baby would look like. Cheetara was happy and content with the way things worked out, but also concerned about Lion-O and his father. When she heard him walk back into the tent, she sat up and looked to him for some news of Claudus. The expression on his face convinced her that Panthro had not brought good news. She watched him walk over to his trunk and pull out some clean cloths, saying nothing while he changed.

"What's wrong?" She rose from the bed and walked over to him.

"Father's out of surgery. The Doctor did all they could, but it's not going to be enough."

"Oh no." She covered her mouth with her hands at the news. "How long?"

"They don't know, could be hours, could be days." He looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry but I need to see him. I know that…"

"No Lion-O, it alright. Let's go see him." Cheetara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

* * *

The walk to Claudus's tent was a somber one. Neither of them spoke on the way over, just simply held hands. This was supposed to be a happy time for the two of them, but it was hard to be happy when the king was lying on his deathbed. Cheetara almost regretting telling Lion-O now, yet she was sure that deep down he was happy. Walking up to the tent they saw Pumyra and the twins standing to one side. Tygra was just stepping out of the tent as they approached.

"He's asking for you," Tygra told Lion-O then looked to Cheetara. "Both of you."

"Thanks brother." Lion-O said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

They shared a look before Lion-O, still holding Cheetara hand, stepped inside the tent. Claudus was on his bed and was looking very pale. He looked like a husk of the former cat that Lion-O knew. He knew that his father would not want to see him cry, so he took a deep breath and tried his best to keep it together. Cheetara on the other hand couldn't keep it together as much. The hormones from the pregnancy were not helping matters, or so she told herself.

"Hello Father." Lion-O said as he walked up to Claudus's bed.

"There is no need to be so formal Lion-O," the King said in a very weaken voice.

"I'm sorry." He said in return.

"Hey there is nothing to be sorry about." Claudus reached over and put his hand over his son's.

"Yes there is, it was my plan to keep you safe and I failed—I failed you."

"You didn't fail me my son, you never have," he told him then coughing a bit. "I've been the one who has failed you all these years, Lion-O, but you've turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. I'm proud of the cat you've become. I'm proud of the choices that you've made for your life." He shifted his eyes to Cheetara who had tears running down her cheeks. "My only regret is that I will not be able to meet my grandchildren and see you two wed."

Cheetara was unable to stop the progression of tears that flowed down her cheeks. She turned and buried her face in Lion-O shoulder. She told herself to not get so emotional but it was hard for her. Since Claudus had accepted her as his son's mate and future wife, he had been like a second father to her. Now, he was lying there in front of them looking so weak when shortly before he commanded the entire area around him.

"Cheetara, please keep your promise to take care of Lion-O and watch over Tygra." She looked at him, giving him a reassuring nod. "I was right about you, you possess so many qualities that remind me of Lion-O's mother. Your kind and caring nature will endear you to the people of Thundera, and will one day make you a great mother."

"Thank you sire'" she said with a sob.

"She will indeed make a great mother—very soon in fact." Lion-O said, looking to his mate.

Claudus looked to his son and then to the crying cheetah on his arm. It took him a few moments in his weakened state but the pieces finally came together. A warm contented smile came over his features at the thought.

"You are, aren't you?" Claudus asked her.

"Yes Sire, I am carrying your grandson and the next heir to the throne." She delivered the happy news with a heavy heart and a sad smile.

"With you as the child's mother, the future of Thundera will be in good hands." He reached for her hand. Cheetara gave it to him and the king then placed it with Lion-O's. He held them both together and looked up at them with tired eyes. "There are going to be hard times to come, but so long as you two love one another as your mother and I did, then there will be nothing that you can't overcome."

"I can only hope to be as good a King as you were father." Lion-O felt tears start to roll down his cheeks.

"Don't be sad that my time is over—it is your time now." He coughed a little more. "Grant me one last request before I join our ancestors."

"Anything."

"Marry this woman before I pass, I want to at least have seen my pride and joy begin his own family."

"I…" Lion-O began, only to interrupted by Cheetara.

"For the King who accepted a commoner like me into the royal family, I would not have it any other way." Cheetara voice was hoarse due to her crying.

"And as long as you're my best man," Lion-O added, trying to choke back the tears.

* * *

It took a bit of time to get everything ready for the impromptu to ceremony. However, with some help from their friends Cheetara had a dress and Claudus's tent was set up as a makeshift chapel. Lion-O stood next to his father who was now sitting up in his bed so he could see the proceedings. Jaga stood on the other side of Lion-O having agreed to be the one to perform the ceremony.

"You seem a bit nervous son," Claudus said quietly.

"Considering that this is something I've wanted for a long time now, I am." Lion-O said rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's only natural," Claudus said with a chuckle that quickly turned into a painful cough. When he looked to Lion-O he could see the worry on his face. "I'm fine," he assured him. "Besides, looks like your new bride about to arrive." Claudus nodded toward the entrance to the tent.

Lion-O looked up and saw Cheetara standing there. She was wearing a simple beige gown. Pumyra had sent troops all over the surrounding towns but none could find a white dress. To Lion-O it didn't matter. She looked even more stunning in the dress than she did in the one from the ball. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid. Their eyes locked and Lion-O could see the nervous smile cross her lips. His heart started beating faster as she walked closer to him.

"You look stunning," Lion-O whispered to her as she walked up to them.

"Shall we begin?" Jaga said looking to the both of them as they faced him. When both nodded he began the ceremony.

While Jaga read from an old scroll that contained the right to the marriage, Tygra watched on with interest. He had never thought the day would come when his little brother would be the first one to be wed. He was both very happy and jealous of him due to the fact that it was Cheetara he was marrying. It didn't help one bit that they had told everyone he was with child. A part of his heart was breaking with that knowledge that not only was she was carrying Lion-O's baby but that he himself was not the father, though it was his own fault that things didn't turn out the way he wanted them to. He was smart enough to admit that to himself, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

Tygra was happy the ceremony was over with nearly twenty minutes later. He had come close to standing up when Jaga asked if anyone objected to them being joined. However, the tiger prince could not think of any legitimate reason to stop it. Aside from that fact that he would have ruined Cheetara's day, but he would have dishonored father's last wish. He looked over to his dad and noticed that he had closed his eyes at some point during the precedings. Yet as Tygra looked at his father a sudden feeling of dread overcame him. Lion-O and Cheetara had just finished their first kiss as a married couple when Tygra jumped up and ran to his father.

"Father..." Tygra nearly shouted.

All eyes went from the newlyweds to the prince standing next to the King. Lion-O looked at his father's bed and noticed that he was too still to be just sleeping. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched his brother unsuccessfully try to wake their father. He slowly walked to the other side of the bed and took his father's hand into his. Dropping to his knees the tears started flowing before he could stop them. He looked up to see Jaga, come over to the bedside and check on Claudus. He didn't need to hear Jaga say anything, the look on his face was enough to tell him that his father was gone. Lion-O looked upon his brother and for the first time since the death of their mother, he saw tears flowing down his brother's cheeks.

There were no words exchanged as everyone both inside the tent and out dropped to their knees, hanging their heads in silence. The King had passed into the next realm and was now with his Queen once again. Lion-O felt Cheetara next to him take his hand into hers as she started to recite a prayer. The time of rejoicing for their wedding was gone, replaced now with the sadness of the loss of Thundera's King and father.

* * *

**A/N: **Deicate this chapter to a freind of mine who just lost his father last week.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Well here it is after a long wait. I've had a bit of on again off again writers block when it came to this chapter. I guess it due to the fact that I'm starting to warp this story up. I had thought about ending it with this chapter but I think it's the pilot in me that didn't want to end this story with thirteen chapters. Well hope everyone enjoys this one and can keep up with the flashbacks mixed in the middle. Also pay attention to the note at the end of the chapter. Thought I would let the readers help with how to end this story.

Thanks again to my wonderful editor for doing this chapter for me.

* * *

**Chapter XIII**

"All hail King Lion-O, all hail Queen Cheetara, may the spirits guide you to rule well, and wisely." Jaga said presenting the new King and Queen of Thundera to those who had gathered in the throne room to witness the coronation of them both.

They both rose from their respective chairs, walked to the balcony to greet their people. Lion-O reached for his wife and Queen's hand. The swell of the cub that was growing inside could be seen even under the gown that she wore. They looked at each other with love in their eyes. They were married, but their marriage would be ever scarred by the death of King Claudus. It was his last wish and both were happy to grant it for him.

That had been two months ago, and despite the fact that everyone around him pushed for his coronation to go ahead, Lion-O didn't feel it was right so soon after his father's death. He felt that not only he but the nation needed time to mourn the loss before being able to accept a new King. The debate had caused several arguments between Lion-O and Tygra, but just as Claudus had predicted it had been Cheetara who smoothed things over and brought peace back into the palace.

Her calming effect on Lion-O's temper when it came to arguments with his brother seemed to also help the people of Thundera mourn the loss of Claudus. While Lion-O was busy with affairs of state, Cheetara had made it a point to be the face of the royal family during the past two months. She had been so worried that the people wouldn't accept her as the future Queen, but much to her surprise and just as Lion-O and Claudus had thought the people loved her. She spent many a day helping those families who had lost their loved ones in the final fight with Mumm-Ra.

As they walked out to the balcony to the cheers of the people of Thundera, Lion-O looked to his wife and recalled one such time when she had come to him for advice. She had found him in his study, although Lion-O would never see that room as _his_—he would always consider it his father's study. Cheetara had found the young king going over reports from the military as well as the financial advisors when she had walked in.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

It had been only two weeks since his father's death and their return to the palace but Lion-O was already beginning to understand why his father had never had much time for him or Tygra. There were mounds of scrolls and reports all over the large oak desk. He was not sure if he would ever be able to get through all of it. When he heard the door to the study open he thought for sure that it was another scribe coming to bring him more. However as he looked up he noticed his wife standing just inside the door. The look on her face told him that something was bothering her and she wanted to talk to him about it.

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" She questioned, not wanting to be a bother.

"Never," he said, a warm smile brightening his face as he rose from his desk and walked over to her. "As long as it's you I welcome the distraction." He greeted her with a warm kiss.

She smiled back at him when he eventually pulled back from their kiss. Cheetara knew that he had a lot on his plate already, but she was happy that he had done his best to make time for her. Part of her felt guilty about it, but a bigger part, her selfish side, was happy that he did. He led her over to a couch that sat in front of the fireplace and sat down. As she sat next to him, Lion-O pulled her practically into his lap, a place she was more than willing to be.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked her softly as he started to rub her shoulders.

"I'm okay." She relaxed into his touch. "Morning sickness is a little better, but not gone completely," She informed him before letting out a very contented sigh.

She loved being with him loved feeling his touch on her skin. It was a dream come true for her, and despite everything there were times that she thought she would wake up in the morning and be back in her room at the sanctuary. Yet those thoughts quickly vanished when her eyes opened and she felt her husband's strong arms around her. She felt Lion-O reach his arms around her and rest them on her belly which had just begun to show evidence of the life growing within.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting him." His words caused her to chuckle. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"How do you know it going to be a boy?" she questioned.

"Just a feeling."

"And if it's a girl?" she asked, knowing already what his answer would be.

"Then I hope she looks like her mother who I love already with all my heart." He kissed her neck, causing his wife to moan. "But something tells me that you didn't just come here to spend time with me did you." he managed to say in between kisses.

"No…" She was doing her best to keep from moaning any louder due to her husband actions. "I have a bit of a request." She then reached a hand up and ran it through his hair. "Oh Lion-O, you are going to drive me crazy doing that."

"What request do you have for me?" He asked, without stopping his assault. He was very much enjoying the way she reacted to him yet he knew that he needed to stop before it got to out of hand and someone walked in on them.

"I want to set something up to help the families of the soldiers who didn't come back from that battle," she said after finally getting her breath.

"I think…" he said, kissing her neck one last time before finally stopping, "I think that is a wonderful idea."

**[END FLASHBACK]**

* * *

She never ceased to amaze him with the level of compassion she had for those around her. To think of a way to help the families of the fallen cats who didn't make it back from the battle would only cause the Thunderian people love her even more than they already did. The idea wasn't as well-received with the council but Lion-O told them that it was going to happen regardless of their stand. He knew that the councilmen were only thinking of their own pockets instead of the welfare of the people.

Just as the king expected, the people accepted the idea with open arms and both Lion-O and Cheetara personally helped with some of the families. It was just one of the many reasons that the people were cheering for them now. Lion-O was no fool—he knew that most of them were cheering for Cheetara and that was fine with him. It made him feel very proud of his wife. He looked over at her and noticed the smile upon her face. She was a natural at this, much better than he was although this was not the case only a week ago.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

"I can't do this Lion-O," She said pacing in their room, "It's just too much and I'm going to end up messing something up and making you look like a fool in front of the entire Kingdom." Cheetara's voice was filled with nerves.

The coronation was a week away and as each day drew closer, the more worried Lion-O noticed she had become. Sometime she seemed close to having a panic attack. He walked up to her and was able to calm her by putting his hand on her shoulder and bringing her into his arms. He had held on to her until she had stopped shaking.

"Cheetara, it's going to be alright. You're not going to do anything wrong." Lion-O spoke to her in a soothing voice. "Think about all that you've done so far. The people already accept you as their Queen, the coronation just a formality."

"How can you be so calm about this?" she said, raising her head up to look at him.

"Sweetheart, I'm nervous too; but you know what got me really scared?" She shook her head no in response. "This," he said reaching down and touching her belly. "I'm more scared of messing up our cub's life than the Kingdom."

"I'm scared about that as well," she admitted to him, "But you've been raised around this stuff. I haven't.

"Oh come on now," he said softly, "I've seen you with the kids of the families that we've helped. You're a natural at it."

"That's only because it's not our child," she told him, smiling lightly, "but I did enjoy it."

"Tell you what, I'll make a deal with you," he said. She gave him a questioning look. "When it comes to our cubs, I will look to you for advice. as for matters of the Kingdom, leave that to me." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I know that together we can overcome our fears."

"I can agree with that." She kissed him back then rested her head on his chest. "I'm getting tired, can we turn in early tonight?"

"I have a few things that still need to be taken care of," he began but then noticed the look in her eyes, "But I think they can wait until morning." She smiled at his response and cuddled closer to him.

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

After walking in from the balcony the new King and Queen headed to the grand ballroom where a celebration ball was being held in their honor. As she walked into the room Cheetara thought about how this room held so much meaning for her. It was in this room that Lion-O held her in his arms for the first time, looked at her in a way that was very different from when they use to spar. She looked to the large chairs that were theirs now and remembered seeing Claudus seated there, watching them that night. She was so nervous that evening, but being with her prince, now King, made everything better. Granted it was also the room in which she had died, but Cheetara would always think of that as just one more step on the journey which had brought them to the point they were at now.

"It is customary that the King and Queen lead the first dance at their coronation ball," Jaga promoted, standing near their chairs.

"Shall we?" Lion-O turned to look at Cheetara, a slight blush noticeable under his fur.

"Gladly…" Cheetara gave him and slight bow while a playful smile spread across her face.

The royal couple started to dance, both sensing all eyes in the room upon them; however, Cheetara and Lion-O paid little attention to them. For Lion-O, he was to lost in thought about how they had gotten this far, how his little secret to keep the city safe had brought the woman he'd already cared deeply for closer to him—close enough to figure out that he had more than just feeling of close friendship for this woman. He was in love with her and even though it was not a pleasant thought, he did owe Tygra for pushing him to make his move. If it had not been for his brother things could have turned out much differently. He would be having this dance with a Lioness that his father had tried to set him up with the night of the ball—the same one that was now one of Cheetara's ladies in waiting.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

"Okay, run this by me again," Lion-O asked, standing in his study a few days ago.

"I was as surprised as you were but she came to me and asked me to allow her to be one of Cheetara's ladies in waiting," Tygra told his brother.

"I just don't get it," Lion-O said, scratching his head, "I had assumed that once Lillian realized that I loved Cheetara that she would have gone back home and found herself another cat to be marry."

Lion-O looked out the window of his study upon his view of the garden. He could see Cheetara down there with Pumyra and the kittens. The two women were talking about something as they watched the twins play with Snarf. As much as he wanted to be down there with them, there was this issue at hand. Part of him wondered what the lioness' true motives were in wanting to be his wife's Lady in Waiting. Yet he knew that he was just being overprotective of his wife and unborn child. Lillian came from a very well to do family, so the chance that she was doing it to find some way to be closer to him was out of the question. He knew that well enough after spending a short amount of time with her at the ball where his relationship with Cheetara really took off.

"Is she here?" Lion-O asked, turning to face his brother.

"She's right outside waiting for an answer."

"Let her in."

Tygra nodded and left to get the woman. Upon their returned Lillian bowed to Lion-O. She was a bit nervous of what he was going to say to her, but the look in the King's eyes assured her that even though Lion-O was King, that he had not changed. He was still the lion she danced with at the ball, the same man she admired.

"Thank you Tygra, I would like to speak to her alone," Lion-O told him. Tygra gave him a nod and turned to leave. Lion-O waited until the door was shut behind his brother before he spoke to Lillian. "Please come and sit." He motioned to the couches in front of the fire.

"Thank you, your highness," Lillian answered taking a seat on the couch while making sure her dress was neat. "I feel that you have questions for me regarding my request?" she said, looking to Lion-O.

"I do." He looked to her on the other end of the couch. "Lillian, you are from a well to do family and your family name if highly respected at court. If your request was to be on my council then I would not hesitate to accept, if only for the fact that of our families have a long history. But to be a Lady in waiting, working in the shadows for the queen?" he said puzzled.

"I have no head for politics my lord," she told him, looking to the flames dancing in the fireplace. "However, I want to be of some service to you just as my father was to yours." She turned her eyes to look at Lion-O, with deep emotions in them. "So knowing that I cannot help you as my father did, I want to do this and help take care of the Queen while you are busy dealing with the Kingdom." She took a deep breath then looked away again. "I still care for you my King, just as I did at the ball. But just as I told you then, your heart belongs to the Queen and I would never do anything to harm the love you two have for one another."

"I am grateful for that Lillian," Lion-O said.

"As am I..." Lion-O looked up to see Cheetara enter through the door. She walked over to them and smiled down to Lillian who was now bowing before Cheetara. "Please stand." As she straightened from her bow Cheetara wrapped her in a hug.

Lillian was surprised by by the Queen's affection. She didn't know what to say or do at first but she soon put her arms around the cheetah and hugged her in return. Lion-O was stunned as well. He was worried at first but seeing the two of them hugging had him thinking that this might be a good thing for Cheetara.

"Tygra told me that you two were talking." Cheetara broke from the hug ushered Lillian to sit on the other couch as she sat next to Lion-O. "I've been looking forward to meeting you and I wanted to thank you Lady Lillian." Cheetara took hold of Lion-O's hand.

"For what your majesty? I have done nothing to deserve your gratitude." Lillian said in return.

"For letting him go." Cheetara said. "I was told that you had come to the ball at the request of King Claudus to be betrothed to my husband. Of course I didn't know at the time his feelings for me, but you could have easily claimed your right to him as a Lady of the Court over someone from a common background. You didn't and well…" Cheetara said then felt Lion-O squeeze her hand.

"Your Majesty, I could never do something like that, not after seeing you to together and how happy you made the King," Lillian said with a smile. "Maybe some of the other Ladies might have done something like that, but I couldn't make him follow his duty while in love with you."

"We do owe you for us being together Lady Lillian," Lion-O told her.

"Exactly, and Tygra also told me about your request," Cheetara said with a hint of knowing in her eye. "I know my husband has not given you an answer yet, but to be honest it's not his choice it's mine, and I would be happy to have you as my Lady in Waiting," Cheetara said.

Lion-O knew that this might happen once Cheetara talked to the woman, and he was fine with that. He looked to Lillian and noticed the bright look in her eyes and the smile on her face. He was a bit surprised when Cheetara kissed his cheek and then got up offering Lillian her hand. He watched as his wife and her new Lady in Waiting walked out of his study. The two were already talking about this and that.

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

Little did he know at the time that the real reason Tygra had brought this up to him was the fact that he had taken an interest in the lioness. It was even more surprising to find out that Lillian was beginning to feel the same for his brother. So as Lion-O danced with Cheetara across the ballroom floor, it brought a smile to his face seeing his brother and Lillian dancing next to them. It was just like Tygra to find a sneaky way to have the woman he was interested in living in the palace so he could be close to her. Yet as he looked over to the new couple Lion-O could see just how happy and content his brother was with Lillian in his arms. It was the same look that he was certain he had when Cheetara was in his arms.

"They do make a good couple don't they?" Cheetara said softly after seeing the direction in which her husband was looking.

"I've never seen him so happy as he is when she's around." He looked back at her. "I know that you had something to do with it," he told her with a playful smirk

"I should feel offended my King," she played back.

"And I would expect nothing less of my Queen and of the woman I love to find happiness for those around us."

"He is my brother too and if things go well, Lillian will be more of a sister than she already is," she said then kissed Lion-O.

Lion-O smiled at her comment, genuinely hoping that his brother would find the happiness that he had found with Cheetara. The celebration went on into the night. Both were greeted by noblemen and women from all over the kingdom. Even the new King of the Lizard Clan had attended and paid his respects to the new King and Queen. By late evening the festivities were still underway, but Cheetara was beginning to get tired. They retired to their room, but not before wishing their guests well and telling them to continue to enjoy themselves.

Stepping into their room Lion-O watched his mate and wife walk across the room and begin to ready herself for bed. He loved her so much that he could not think of his life without her in it. He knew that he had to be the luckiest cat in the Kingdom to win her love and affections. What made it all the more real for him was the growing cub in her belly, the child they had created together out of love.

"I wish father was here to see this day," Lion-O said softly.

Cheetara had just slipped into her silk nightgown and was turning down the bed when she heard her husband's words. She knew that Claudus had been on Lion-O's mind the entire day. Truth be told the former King was on her mind as well. It would have been impossible to not reflect on Claudus on a day that was so meaningful to them both as well as the Thunderian people. She looked to Lion-O and noticed the saddened look in his eyes. She stopped what she was doing, moving across the room to him. She said not a word as she pulled him into her arms. Lion-O gripped her tight and buried his head in her hair. She could feel his tears fall on her shoulder as all the pain he had been holding in over the past months finally hit a breaking point.

"I miss him Cheetara," he said in a horse tone. "I've been so busy these past few months that I've not had time to think about it, but today made me realize that he really is gone forever."

Cheetara just held Lion-O, allowing him to express all of his feelings. She could not help it as her own tears started to fall as she listened to the man she loved greave for his father. There were really no words that she could offer to comfort his pain, yet she felt that she needed to say something.

"He'll never truly be gone Lion-O. As long as we remember him, he will be with us forever," she told him.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to mess something up with the Kingdom and with our child," he admitted to her.

"You're not in any of this alone my love." She pulled back to look into his blue eyes. "We are bound to make mistakes, but as long as we have each other and our friends then we will get through them one at a time. Besides, do you think your father or even your mother knew everything when it came to raising you and Tygra as well as running the Kingdom?"

"Knowing my father I'm sure he thought he did," Lion-O said with a light chuckle, "but I'm sure my mother would tell us differently," he said with a smile, hugging her once more. "Thank you Cheetara, I don't know how I would have made it without you."

"I'll always be here for you Lion-O, just as you have been for me. There's nothing we can't do if we do it together," She assured him just before she leaned up and kissed him passionately.

* * *

**Four Months Later**

Cheetara sat in a room watching her lady in waiting getting fitted for a wedding dress. She smiled at her friend and soon to be sister in law thinking about the time she was in this very room getting fitted for her coronation dress. Lillian was smiling brightly as she looked at a very pregnant Cheetara in the mirror. She was rubbing her belly as the baby kicked. The cub was a lively little tike already and it made her wonder how much of a handful that she and Lion-O were going to have on their hands when the baby finally arrived. After all, the cub was due to arrive only a few more weeks from now.

"What do you think my lady?" the seamstress asked, finishing the last stitch.

"It's perfect," Lillian said looking at herself in the mirror. "What do you think your highness?"

"Please Lillian. I've told you before—just Cheetara. We are going to be sisters after all," she said with a warm smile, then looked at Lillian in the dress. "I think Tygra is going to be blown away when he sees you walking down the aisle."

Ever since Tygra had proposed to Lillian, Cheetara had been trying to get her to call her by her name and instead of her title all of the time. She never seemed to remember but Cheetara figured that it was her upbringing that kept her from doing it. Though Cheetara did find it funny that Lillian had asked her to be her maid of honor during the ceremony. It was something that she just could not understand, but Cheetara loved her just the same regardless of her friend's quarks.

"I hope your right," Lillian said.

"I'm sure Prince Tygra will be very surprised when he see's you milady," The seamstress said as she fluffed out some of the gown.

After another fifteen minutes the two women exited the shop and started to walk along the streets of Thundera. Lillian smiled at the way the people would smile and greet Cheetara. Children would come up and ask her question about the baby, and how soon it would be here. She would have never thought after that night at the ball that she and Cheetara would have become such close friends, and now she was engaged to marry her brother in law. She had thought when Lord Lion-O chose Cheetara that she would never end up with her fairytale, but after working with the Queen she had gotten to know Tygra, and then soon feel in love with him. She never thought she could be so happy as when he told her that he loved her and wanted to marry her.

"Lillian did you hear me?" Cheetara asked with a chuckle as her friend look lost in thought.

"I'm sorry your highness, I was thinking…"

"Yes I kind of figured you were thinking of your prince," she said with a smile.

"Yes I was," Lillian answered with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I never thought that something like this could happen for me, not after..." she said then stopped.

"Since Lion-O chose me over you?" Cheetara said with no hint of anger or jealousy in her voice. She smiled as Lillian just nodded her answer. "It was I who never thought I would have had a chance with Lion-O. You are from a wealthy family Lillian, whereas I was born a commoner and orphaned when I was very young," Cheetara told her.

"True, but that endears you to the people all the more your highness," Lillian said then got a raised eyebrow from Cheetara knowing what she was thinking. "If it had been I who married Lion-O then I doubt that the Kingdom would be flourishing as it is now. I doubt we would have a peace and trade treaty with the Lizards and the other races," she continued, "It's because of you Cheetara."

"I don't know about that. Lion-O was pretty level-headed before we started our relationship. I don't think I brought anything to the table for those treaties," She answered as they started to near the palace.

"Cheetara," Lillian said stopping and turning to face her Queen, just inside the gate of the palace, "You've brought more to this Kingdom than you realize. Just have faith in yourself as Queen."

"Lillian…" Tygra yelled from across the courtyard.

Lillian smiled at Cheetara hearing Tygra call for her. He was back from a three day patrol and she wanted to run to him, but edict kept her from leaving Cheetara's side. When Cheetara nodded for her to go with a happy smile, Lillian turned and ran toward her future husband. Cheetara started to head for the palace and watched Tygra picked up her lady in waiting and spin her around, kissing her with a passion that she feared might light the palace on fire. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and knew right away it was her King. She relaxed in his arms and let out a slight moan as he kissed her neck.

"Think we were ever like that when we first were together?" he asked.

"Worse, according to Jaga," she said with s chuckle.

"Lunch is ready if you're hungry."

"Famished," she answered.

"Tygra, welcome home, kitchen got lunch ready, so come eat whenever you can pull yourself from Lillian lips." And with that remark Lion-O got an elbow in the gut from Cheetara. "Omph"

"Leave them alone and let's go eat."

* * *

**A/N: **Make sure to go to my profile page and cast your vote for the children and feel free to suggest their names as well.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Well I know it's been a long time coming for the finish of this story but I was finally able to get it done. I hope that everyone enjoys this final chapter and I would like to thank all my fans of this story as well as my beta readers helping me with this.

* * *

**Chapter XIV**

"I'm so sorry Lillian," Cheetara said as another bout of pain ripped through her. "This was supposed to be your special day and I've ruined it."

"Please Your Majesty, it's just time for the little one to come; it's not your fault," Lillian said as she stood off to the side of the room, still in her wedding gown.

The day had begun with her being a nervous wreck. However, now she was worried about her queen and sister-in-law. As she stood there, unsure of how to help, the memories of the day ran through her mind.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Lillian, relax and stand still so the seamstress can finish," Cheetara said with a chuckle.

Cheetara was sitting in an overstuffed chair yet she still found it uncomfortable to stay in one position for very long. It was still a couple of weeks before she was due to deliver her cub. The little bundle looked huge on her small frame and he was causing havoc on her back. Some days it was a struggle just to get out of bed, but today she had made the effort to be here with Lillian. She was going to be her matron of honor after all. Lillian tried to insist that she stay in bed, but Cheetara wouldn't have any of it.

"I know but I'm scared and excited all at the same time," she said with an anxious smile on her face. "I still can't believe that tomorrow I'll be married to Tygra."

"As well as becoming a Princess of Thundera," Cheetara said with a smile.

"Lord Lion-O didn't have to give me that title, I'm just happy to be marrying his brother."

"I know, but he and I both believe you deserve the title."

"Ohh!" Cheetara suddenly said, rubbing her belly.

"Is everything alright Your Majesty?" There was a concerned tone in Lillian's voice.

"I'm fine. It's just this strong little one. He's very much like his father," she said with a smile.

Lillian looked at Cheetara, concern evident in her eyes. She had thought about telling her that they would hold off the wedding until after she gave birth. However, she knew how that discussion would ultimately end; it would end the same way that prior conversations of that nature had ended. Cheetara would always tell her that this was going to be _her_ day and that she wouldn't be the cause of changing it. However, she was not convinced that her soon to be sister-in-law was as fine as she claimed she was.

_End Flashback_

* * *

Even though she had spoken calming words to her future sister-in-law, Lillian knew in her gut that this was her fault. She should have gone to Lord Lion-O about the pains Cheetara had experienced yesterday and held off the wedding. As she looked down at Cheetara waiting for the doctor to arrive, Cheetara seemed to be able to sense her thoughts. Cheetara reached her hand out and Lillian quickly took hold of it. They each gave a gentle squeeze, the gesture communicating more than mere words could have done in that brief moment. The moment ended abruptly when another pain coursed through Cheetara's swollen belly.

When Lion-O came bursting into the room minutes later with the doctor in tow, Cheetara had a grateful smile on her face at seeing her husband again. The severity of the contractions she'd been having made her worry that that baby would arrive before he had returned with the doctor. Lion-O quickly moved to his wife's side, taking her other hand before pressing several kisses to her palm and then to her forehead. She could see the worry in his eyes. She knew all too well that despite his happiness about pregnancy, her Lion-O was scared out of his mind that the same fate that his mother had suffered as a result of childbirth would fall upon his wife.

"Okay, let's have a look shall we?" the doctor said after he finished cleaning his hands in the washbasin. "Okay Your Majesty, I'm going to see how far along you are, but I suspect that we still have some time before the little one will arrive."

Lion-O watched as the doctor examined his wife. He knew it was part of the doctor's job and he should have been used to it by now. Yet it still upset him a little knowing that another man was looking at his wife's most intimate parts, parts that only he should ever see. Cheetara already knew how Lion-O felt about this issue and she gave his hand a squeeze to gain his attention. He looked down at her and gave her an apologetic smile. He knew it was childish to feel this way, especially at a time like this. After a few minutes the doctor rose, wiping his hands as he gave the royal couple a smile.

"Things are moving right along. I'd say before the end of the day there will be a new prince or princess in the lair," He assured them.

"You're sure that there's nothing wrong?" Lion-O asked, the worry clear in his voice.

"I'm quite sure My Lord, the queen is doing just fine."

Another shot of pain ripped through Cheetara causing her to grip both Lion-O's and Lillian's hands very tightly. The sweat on her brow had caused her long blonde hair to become matted to her forehead. The pain had lasted a good long minute before it subsided. She didn't know what the doctor was talking about, because to her it felt like her cub was ready to claw its way out of her right now.

"Can you give her anything for the pain?" Lillian asked.

"I can mix a batch of herbs that should help them subside a little, but it will take some time for it to brew," he answered.

"Do it," Lion-O ordered just before another bout of pain hit his wife.

"I need to push!" she yelled out through it.

"Not yet Your Majesty, you're not quite there yet," the doctor said in a soothing tone.

"You don't understand; I need to push NOW." Cheetara about growled out.

The doctor had delivered a countless number of cubs in his thirty years of medical service, so it was nothing new for him to hear a new mother say something like this. Yet this was the royal couple and if it would make the queen feel more at ease, then he would check her again. Once again he ducked down and started to examine the queen's progress. What he saw had clearly startled him and the expression on his face made both parents worry.

"Doctor, what is it?" Lion-O almost yelled, fearing the worst.

"I can see the head," he told them, and then looked to Lillian. "I need your help. Bring that basin of warm water over here and get lots of blankets or towels."

Lillian, still in her wedding gown, had said nothing but worked quickly to get the requested items for the doctor. After having gathering the blankets, water and towels he had requested as well as the doctor's medical bag, she returned and set them down nearby. She was excited and nervous about being here to witness the new prince or princess' entrance to the world.

"Okay, Your Majesty, on the next contraction, push," the doctor had ordered.

It was no more than two minutes later when the next contraction came, and as instructed, Cheetara started to push. She gritted her teeth and used every muscle that she could think of to push her cub out. She could hear Lion-O doing his best to encourage her, but she had barely even heard his words as she focused on delivering their baby. Just knowing that he was there with her, feeling his strong presence holding her hand, wiping the sweat from her brow, was a comfort to her.

It seemed like an eternity to Lion-O as he watched the woman that he loved more than life itself experience so much pain. He had sworn to protect her and to keep her from harm, but this was one pain that he could not ease and it tore at his heart. Despite seeming like a long time to Lion-O, mere moments had passed before the doctor and Lillian heard the new cub letting out its first cries of new life.

Lillian was smiling brighter than she had ever done in her life as she now looked at the new cub in the doctor arms. He handed the new cub to her and she quickly wrapped the tiny baby in a warm blanket. She didn't care that her wedding gown was getting stained. She used another damp cloth to clean the baby up before bringing the cub to Lion-O and Cheetara.

"Lord Lion-O, Queen Cheetara, may I present your daughter," Lillian declared as she lowered the baby into Cheetara waiting arms.

"Lady Lillian, I need you again now!" The doctor exclaimed hurriedly.

She quickly moved next to the doctor and was shocked by what she saw. Another cub was crowning. Unlike the princess now resting in Lion-O's arms, who possessed strawberry blond hair with darker spots like the queen's, this new little cub had fiery red hair like his father with lighter colored spots like its mother.

"It's a boy, Cheetara!" Lillian exclaimed, not even worrying about the formality of a title.

Lion-O and Cheetara looked just as amazed as everyone else. Neither one had expected that she had been carrying twins. However, as they waited to see their new prince, something didn't seem right. Cheetara got a sick feeling in her gut when the doctor hadn't handed Lillian their son right away as he had done with their daughter.

Everyone watched and listened for sounds of the baby's first cries; yet there was no sound. Both parents began to feel their hearts breaking, fearing the worst. Lion-O stepped beside the doctor and noticed him rubbing the little cub's back vigorously. With every passing second, Lion-O's heart sank deeper as he knew that his son was drifting further away from him. Once again it seemed like a lifetime had passed and that the doctor would soon give up, but after one more vigorous rub, their son let out a loud cry, so loud in fact that it had caused his sister to cry as well.

Lion-O handed his daughter back to his tired wife and took then his son into his arms. His blue eyes started to tear up as he looked down at the little bundle. The new prince was smaller than his sister, but Lion-O didn't care. He had lost so much already in his life; the fact that Spirits had brought his new son back to him caused him to wonder if his parents' had some hand in it. Whatever the cause that had brought his son back, he would be forever grateful.

An exhausted Cheetara watched as father and son bonded for the first time. She could see the tears in his eyes, and she used a free hand to wipe away her own tears. She had been so scared that they would lose their son. She said a small prayer thanking the spirits for not taking him. Lion-O sat down on the edge of the bed and presented their son to her.

"Cheetara, meet our son," Lion-O said, turning the new bundle so that she could see him.

"He's perfect," she said as she reached out with her free hand, running her finger over the little prince's cheek.

As Lion-O looked down at his wife he realized there really were no words to adequately describe his feelings. The best words he could think of were pride, deep love, and happiness. Yet there was a bit of melancholy there as well. Sensing this, Cheetara looked to Lillian and gave her a silent request.

"Doctor, if you're finished, I'll escort you downstairs so we can leave the new family alone to bond," Lillian instructed.

"Yes, quite right," he replied after having had just finished cleaning up. "Lord Lion-O, Lady Cheetara, once again, congratulations. I will be back in a few days to check on you." The doctor bowed to them before exiting the room.

* * *

The royal couple spoke their thanks and Lillian walked the doctor out of the room. She told them both to call her if they needed anything before she had left the room. This, of course, had Lion-O shaking his head and telling her that she was now on her honeymoon and to go to her new husband. When she finally left, Lion-O turned and looked at Cheetara, who now held both cubs in her arms.

"I wish Father could have been here to see this," he admitted with a bit of sadness in his voice.

When Cheetara heard her husband's words, she took it as proof of what had been going through his mind before everyone left. Her heart ached for her lion as she watched him walk back over to their bed. With a bit of discomfort she scooted over to give him room to lie next to her. With no more of an invitation necessary, Lion-O lay down next to Cheetara and pulled her and their cubs close to him. Cheetara sighed into her husband's arms and just relaxed. She felt that she needed to say something to him, something about his father, but any words she considered seemed inadequate. Still, she would try.

"Lion-O, my love, I'm sure that both your mother and father are watching over you right now and that they are very proud of you," she told him in a very sleepy voice.

"Somehow I think that you're right," he agreed as he looked down upon his new family. "One day when you two get older, I'll tell you all about your grandfather," he sweetly promised his cubs. A happy smile crossed his face as he noticed Cheetara's slow steady breathing next to him. "I think you two wore out your mommy coming into the world." He gave a slight chuckle as his son yawned, his daughter following suit right after him. "I think that makes it unanimous."

He adjusted himself a little, making it a little more comfortable for the four of them before he soon realized how the day had tired him out as well. Sleep soon took him.

The door opened slightly and the newlyweds poked their heads in to check on the little family. Lillian smiled at the scene of the royal family cuddling together in bed. It was a scene that she hoped to share with her tiger one day. She looked to him, a smile crossing her lips when she saw the loving look in Tygra's eyes.

"It's hard to believe that only a short months ago I was so jealous of what my brother had with Cheetara," Tygra said as they retreated back into the hall, leaving the royal family to rest.

"And now?" Lillian asked, curious about her husband's thoughts.

"Now…" Tygra began as he looked at his new wife, smiling lovingly, "I realize that they were always meant for each other." He took Lillian into his arms and kissed her. "All of the hate and jealousy I had experienced were merely stepping stones that eventually brought me to you."

Lillian looked at her tiger with a hard questioning look before a smirk soon crossed her face. She reached up and kissed him. "Nice save, My Prince," she said in a playful tone.

The two chuckled as they headed off to spend their first night as a married couple. They both knew that the next few days and weeks ahead were going to be trying for everyone in the palace.

* * *

_**Three Years Later**_

"It's hard to believe it's been three years since father left us," Tygra said.

"I know, but I believe that everything we've done since that time would have made him proud," Lion-O said while glancing out the window of his study.

"Lord Lion-O, you've done what many before you had been unable to do. You've made a peace accord that should last long after we are gone, ensuring a world where our children can grow up in peace," came a voice behind the two cats.

"Thanks to you, Lord Slithe." Lion-O turned to look at the older scaled Lizard. "What you did in that final battle helped set the foundation for such an accord."

"I'm just surprised that you survived. We had all feared the worst for you in that fight with Mumm-Ra," Tygra admitted.

"As was I, Prince Tygra," Slithe hissed. "But the sacrifice I've made to help Lion-O defeat that mummy was worth it," the lizard hissed as he absentmindedly touched his mechanical right arm.

Lion-O looked at the former general, who was now the ruler of the Lizard Clans. He and his people had suffered much, not only under Mumm-Ra's rule but also as a result of what his own ancestors had done to them. Lion-O had sworn after that final battle that he would do whatever he could to repay Slithe's people in return for what the general had done. Lion-O went ahead with his plans for peace talks despite thinking the general had perished. It had taken two years for him to make any headway with the Lizard Clan, and just as it seemed he had failed, Slithe had returned.

He had returned near death, missing his right arm and leg as well as his left eye. It was Lion-O who had instructed their new allies the Burbles to help him get back to health. It had been Slithe's people who had deemed him a hero. Once it was know the lengths to which he had gone to save his race, they had elected him to be their ruler. After that time, the peace talks progressed smoothly. Much to the displeasure of the noble's of Thundera, Lion-O granted the lizard premium lands to help feed their population. In return, Slithe had promised to come to the aid of the cats whenever the need should arise. With the cats and the lizards now at peace, the other races were slowly starting to come around.

"Well regardless, Lord Slithe, I am happy that we're now working together. Thank you for coming here to Thundera. I know it is getting close to harvest time," Lion-O said.

"It is indeed, Lord Lion-O, but it felt right coming to your children's birthday celebration."

"They were very happy to learn that you were able to bring your own children." Lion-O looked back out the window, seeing his twins playing in the garden with Tygra and Lillian's daughter as well as Slithe's two boys. "It's because of the children that I have tried so hard to forge the future peace."

"It's all any parent wants for their children, Brother," Tygra said

"That is very true," Slithe agreed.

* * *

_**Later that Evening**_

"Did you three have a good day?" Lion-O asked as he walked into the large family room that both royal couples shared.

"Yes we did Daddy. Thank you for getting Chaera and Usital to come today," the twins said.

"Well I know how much you like playing together," Lion-O told his children.

As was their custom, the royal family sat in the den together enjoying the evening. Cheetara was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace trying to read a book, but the sight of her cubs interacting with their father was just too distracting. He was so good with them and showered them both with equal love and attention. Lion-O sat leaned against the couch where his wife was seated as he sat on the floor with their children. Both Lea and Aton sat in front of her husband and begged to tell them another story about their grandfather. This had become a nightly tradition when they were old enough to understand the stories.

"Daddy, I want to hear the one about how Granddaddy took down the attack against the big meany," Aton said, as he tried his very best to sit still.

"No, I don't like that one; it scares me," Lea said, shaking her head no. "I want to hear about how you and Mommy met." She then looked at both her parents.

"Well maybe when you're older Lea," Lion-O said with a chuckle. "No, tonight I thought I would tell you more about your grandfather, my father; a story about the man he was rather than about one of his adventures."

Even Cheetara's ears perked up when she heard Lion-O tell their children their new bedtime story. She put down her book and listened intently as the man she loved talked to their children about his own father. There was such pride in his voice when he spoke of King Claudus; it was clear that every word he had shared meant a great deal to him. She could tell by the sound of his voice that Lion-O was doing his best not to let his emotions overwhelm him as he spoke about his father. Even her own emotions were threatened to interfere as she listened; so much so that she had to reach over and place a hand on Lion-O's shoulder for comfort.

As the story grew to a close the royal parents noticed that their little ones where very close to dreamland. Lea was already cuddled up in her father's arms and Aton had laid his head on Lion-O's lap. Cheetara softly worked her way off the couch and picked up Aton. Once his son had been moved the lion king stood up with Lea in his arms, careful not to wake her. They carried their little cubs to the room they shared. They tucked them both into bed and each took turns kissing their foreheads and whispering their goodnights before slipping out of the room through the door that adjoined to their own suite. When Lion-O had finally closed the door and turned around, he noticed his loving wife standing with her arms wrapped around herself as tears rolled down her cheeks. Lion-O quickly walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. He knew why she was crying without having to ask.

"Your father would be so proud of you and the way you interact with them." She said as she rested her cheek against his chest.

"I just wish they could have met him. Father would have loved them so much." Lion-O no longer felt the need to hold back his emotions. "Even after three years I still miss him very much."

"I know you do my love." Cheetara looked up into his blue eyes. "You know as long as you keep telling the cubs those tales about your father they are getting to get to know him a little bit more each time."

Lion-O nodded, comforted by his wife's words. As usual, she was right. He held her for a few more minutes before breaking apart and getting ready for bed. After both where settled under the covers, Cheetara settled into her favorite spot in which to cuddle with her husband. Lion-O gently stroked her back and soon the steady breathing from the beautiful cheetah pressed up against him let him know that she was fast asleep. He gazed toward the window and out into the dark starlit sky.

"I love you Cheetara," He said, softly kissing the top of her head. A smile crossed her lips as she murmured her love for him in return. _Your right, my love, as long as I keep telling our cubs about Father, he will never really be gone. I will keep doing that Father. I will make sure that they know you through my stories._ He yawned as he closed his eyes, letting sleep take him.

* * *

_**The Spirit World**_

"I am so proud of you my love; you did a wonderful job raising our boys," A beautiful lioness said to a tall, bold-looking lion

"I was hardly perfect. I made mistakes." He told, content to hold the lioness in his arms after so long a time spent apart from her.

"You did the best you could. It shows in how both of them are with their own cubs." She touched his cheek with a gentle hand.

"I still worry about them and wish I could be there to hold my grandchildren," He told her, sadness evident in his mighty voice.

"You will one day, my love. I have worried about all three of you, but now you are with me and it is their time to shine." She told him. "We will see them again. Time passes differently for us here than it does for them. So before you know it, we will all be united once again. For now, let us go home my Lord Claudus. I have been without you by my side for far too long."

He looked down upon the members of his family who were still on Third Earth and smiled warmly. He was so pleased to see how close his boys had become. Claudus felt a tug on his hand and turned to face his beloved queen. With her, he felt like he was home again. They had all eternity to spend with one another. He knew that he no longer needed to worry about his boys, knowing that they would rule Thundera well.

Fin.

* * *

**A/N: **Once again thanks for everyone reading and enjoying this story. Sorry for the long wait for the end.


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